A Tale of Two Hearts
by blackrogue123
Summary: Fantasy AU, A young holy knight named Sora and a young Demoness named Kairi, two opposites, two lovers forced into an adventure to decide the fate of the world. Will it fall to darkness, or bask in the light of a new dawn? SxK Roxamine
1. Chapter 1: Sora's Solace

Notes: Alright, this isn't actually the not-so secret AU project that I've been tossing around in my head for a while now…you see, I had this burts of inspiration RIGHT when I was about to finish the first chapter of that story, and I couldn't resist writing this…I don't want to spoil anything in the first chapter, so I'll just cut this AN short and let you start reading what you came to read

Disclaimer: I own nothing, if I did, then Kingdom Hearts would have become the worst video game ever…yes, I have that much bad luck and lack of ability ;.;

* * *

As a spiky haired brunette trudged his way through the currently muddy and rain-soaked dirt road, or, more accurately, a mud road that was once dry before it started raining, there was but one thought running through his head "Rain, mud, and armor don't mix…AT ALL"! His crystal blue eyes glanced down at the now-soiled suit of chainmail that he had been wearing, over which was a white jerking with a coat of arms in the shape of a giant golden tree emblazed on it. It was the official symbol of the kindom of Radiant Garden. Normally, his outfit would have been rather splendid-looking, but the mud and rain had taken away much of its former grander, even his brown leather boots were beginning to look dirty, and that was saying something!

To make matters worse for the young knight-in-training, the normally impossible spiked brown hair was being pinned won and suppressed by the torrent of water. While it still stuck out like a sore thumb, it was the principle of the thing! It took a special kind of someone to get their hair like that. And even though it was somewhat unbecoming of him, given his status as a squire of the knighthood of Radiant Garden, but there weren't any rules against it, and, for better or worse, it made him feel truly unique in terms of appearance.

He wasn't one to complain, in fact, some people even considered his blind optimism and idealism to be irritating! Still, the brunette couldn't help but mentally complain as he remembered just how he got stuck trudging through the rain to accomplish a task that was probably WAY out of his league…

_(Flashback)_

_"So, your name is…Sora?" asked the village elder, a thin old man with gray hair, as he looked up from the letter he held and looked at the boy standing at attention before him…well, he was TRYING to stand at attention._

_"Yep, that's me!" Sora replied brightly, causing low groans to erupt from everyone else within the small hut that was the meeting place for the discussion of important issues in the village. "Me and Riku were told that you had a problem that you needed us for?" Before the village elder could speak up, another, younger man managed to open his mouth before him._

_"Wait, what happened to your companion?"_

_"Oh, well, we ran into another village in the way that was having some bandit trouble and he decided that he would take care of it and then catch up…" Sora seemed to relax as he shrugged a bit with a __sheepish smile. "Don't worry about him; he's really good at fighting!" The younger man seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Sora's answer as he struggled not to slap himself in the face._

_"It's not him I'm worried about" he muttered in a low tone so that Sora wasn't able to hear. There were a number of murmurs between all the other villagers in the room before the elder raised his hand, silencing all of them instantly._

_"I'm afraid that there has been a mild misunderstanding here…" the villagers looked like they were all going to protest about him making the understatement of the decade, but he silenced them once again. It's amazing how old people can do that to you, even if they can't even eat solid foods without somebody grinding them up for them, they can still command enough authority to make even a full grown man sit down and shut up. "You see, we our problem is really quite…large."_

_Sora's look of confusion caused the village elder to sigh to himself, granted, the letter that the one literate person in the village had written was a bit vague, due to their limited writing ability, but he had been hoping for more than a single raw recruit of the Knights of Radiant Garden…ranted, this "Riku" sounded more seasoned than Sora, but bad luck had forced him out of the picture, and there was no guarantee that even both Sora and Riku would be able to fix things if he was here…_

_"You see, there's this monster of some sort that we tracked to a ruined castle nearby and it has developed a fondness for stealing our crops and animals and causing a great deal of mischief…" several of the villagers muttering and complaining silently in agreement reinforced the elder's point. Still, not even naïve Sora was able to miss out on the fact that they seemed hesitant to entrust this seemingly simple affair to him._

_"Then I'll just go to that castle and teach it a lesson it'll never forget!" Actions spoke louder than words…not that Sora was any good with words in the first place! Before the seemingly zealous knight could run off on his epic quest, he was halted by the village elder._

_"You don't understand…you see, there was once a demon that resided in there years ago…it was driven away by a force of elite knights from your order, but…" the old man didn't need to say anything else to get his point across. "I doubt a demon would have any use for a few farm animals and some crops, but I don't want to risk anyone's life if there is in fact a monster of such magnitude residing there. I'll see to it that you have food and lodgings for the night so that your horse can rest, and then you can reunite with your comrade and the two of you can report this to your superior so that they can send some more experienced soldiers…we can afford to starve for a few months if that's what it-,"_

_Sora had heard enough. He was nowhere near as stubborn as Riku, and he certainly didn't share his silver-haired friend's sense of pride, but when it came to easing the suffering of others, Sora would not back down under any circumstances…it was both a weakness and one of the greatest thing about him. "I'm going to that castle; I won't let anyone go hungry just because of some wolf that's gotten used to people being afraid of it!" Sora declared, his voice filled with determination and optimism. "I mean, you did say that it probably isn't a demon or anything out of the ordinary at all, right?"_

_The elder seemed to be taken completely off-guard, along with all the other villagers in the room. "Young man, I appreciate your spirit and courage, but…" he seemed to pause once he saw Sora's face. It was marked with every ounce of optimism and determination his voice was. He sighed and shook his head. "Very well…I won't stop you if you want to risk your life…"_

_Sora was barely able to stop himself from smiling as he saluted the old man, though something about the brunette made it seem not quite as serious as it was meant to be, perhaps it was his hair? "Don't worry you can count on me!" he said enthusiastically. "Oh, and I'm not really a "young man"…I'm only fifteen years old…" Sora actually seemed a bit embarrassed by the elder's oversight, and his confession did little to ease the village's concerns over whether or not he would be able to solve their problem._

_Still, there was no questioning Sora's enthusiasm…hopefully it really was just a wolf, bear, or some other "normal" animal…even squires, knights in training, of Radiant Garden were supposedly quite formidable, given their relative skill level, though such a super-natural would unquestionably be beyond Sora's level…assuming such things were more than mere myth..._

_(End flashback)_

Unfortunately, the short trip down memory lane did little to cheer Sora up as he inched ever closer to the ruined castle. Something as big as it was kind of hard to miss, so he didn't need anyone to point him in the right direction, but the fact that he had to go on foot since his horse was exhausted from the trip it took to actually reach the village counteracted any satisfaction he might have had from not getting lost…something he would have to brag about to Riku to prove that he wasn't totally hopeless!

Of course, that was assuming he got out of this mess alive….

The brunette was almost surprised with how quickly he reached the gates of the castle; he had been too occupied with his own thoughts to really pay attention to anything else! The wooden entrance seemed old and even a touch rotten, but otherwise in fairly good condition, much like the rest of the castle. Sora guessed this was just one of the numerous old strongholds that were abandoned after some kind of wizard civil war, or something along those lines, he never paid attention in history. The soldiers were needed at home rather than in remote garrisons and they had yet to be sent out to reclaim old strongholds such as these, so small, abandoned castles like this one were surprisingly common nowadays.

A wave of apprehension assailed the young knight as he reached his hand towards the door, the elder's warnings echoing in his ears. The castle was in good enough condition for someone to live in, what if there really was a demon or some kind of mage living in this place? It would certainly be ideal for either…

Sora rapidly shook his head, sending the droplets of water that had been captured in his hair flying in all directions. That was absurd! Demons were nothing more than myth and a mage or wizard or witch, or whatever you wanted to call a rogue magic user wouldn't bother stealing a few animals and crops from a poor farming village! They had more important things to do than that…right? Still, despite his fears, 

Sora took a deep breath and pushed open the massive wooden door. He wasn't about to let a village full of people just go hungry because he happened to let his fear get the better of him!

The most ferocious thing in there was probably nothing more than a coyote or even a small wolf pack at best! All he would have to do is drive them away and tell the villagers, they could get rid of something as trivial as a few over-grown dogs! It was simple…and nothing could possibly go wrong….right?

Sora had to admit, he was surprised when he walked into the castle, he expected it to be dusty and more…well, ruinous. Instead, it was in even better condition than he thought, a slightly tattered, but nevertheless serviceable red carpet was spread across the entire floor, and there were no large pieces of fallen rubble or anything of the sort lying around on the ground. The only real flaw in the place was the fact that it was relatively dark since there were no lit torches and the only light came in from the occasional window, but that actually made Sora feel safer since any lit torches would mean that someone was actually living here.

His crystal blue eyes cautiously scanned the entrance hall for any signs of movement before he slowly turned around and shut the door behind him.

"Well, you're quite the gentleman; most people aren't considerate enough to shut the door when they come in!"

Sora stiffened, spun around and drew his sword, only to see nothing. "Huh?" He said aloud to himself as he looked around, not letting down his guard. Sora had reacted completely out of reflex, but now that he had time to think, he was as puzzled as he was startled. The voice was feminine and young, in fact, it sounded like it belonged to someone around his age. "Wh-who's there?!" Sora mentally winced at his inability to fully keep his surprise and fear out of his voice. If his appearance hadn't completely removed any intimidation factor he might have had, his tone just did.

"…Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot my manners!" Sora wasn't sure if the owner of the voice was being sincere or not, the tone was just as surprised and apologetic as it was taunting and filled with amusement, as though the person was enjoying toying with him like this. The sound of gentle clapping echoed through the hall for a second and a half, and then torches that had merely been idly hanging on the walls before were suddenly caught ablaze.

Sora nearly jumped back in surprise as he rapidly looked around, trying to see what had caused the torches to suddenly illuminate the room.

"I'm up here…" Sora froze and slowly looked down the hall. There were two thrones ext to each other and a balcony of sorts above them…leaning forward on the railing of it stood what looked like to be the most beautiful girl Sora had ever recalled seeing, and he wasn't one to take notice of girls much, he was always too busy slaying imaginary dragons or evil sorcerers.

She looked to be his age, with hair that reached down several inches past her shoulders and was an auburn color that was cross between red and pink almost. Her eyes were every bit as oceanic and crystal blue as his. The girl wore a lavish red ball gown of some sort. It s sides "cut" just above her knees and 

the straps merged into one on her neck, leaving her arms bare. It was by no means revealing, in fact, Sora was certain that even the haughtiest of noblewomen would kill to get their hands on such a thing, but to a simple boy like him it was enough to cause a deep shade of pink to materialize on his face as he was unable to stop looking at the girl.

Sora was only snapped out of it when the girl before him seemed to notice his staring and giggled, seemingly to herself. It sounded like the most beautiful thing at the world to Sora, but at the same time, there was something about the giggle that set off alarm bells in some instinct-dominated part of Sora's brain. "Would you mind introducing yourself before you start drooling on my carpet? I can't forgive you if I don't know your name…" the girl said in a teasing tone, seemingly taking delight in the brunette's embarrassment.

"O-h! Sorry, my name's Sora, who are you?" Mentally, Sora winced, for all he knew this girl could be the problem he had been sent to correct, she certainly did seem to live here and was able to light all the torches at once seemingly without moving from her spot…in one word: "magic".

"My name is Kairi…" the auburn-haired girl looked down from her position at Sora with a grin of amusement on her face. "So, what could possibly bring a dashing young knight to a dreary old castle like this?" Kairi asked teasingly.

Her words did little to help Sora get rid of the blush that stained his face; she must have really enjoyed embarrassing him like this! "Er, well, I…" It was against all common sense to tell Kairi what his mission was, she was the most likely candidate for being the cause of the village's suffering! And yet, there was some part of Sora that didn't believe it…it was impossible to explain, he just felt a desire to trust her, after all, she seemed innocent enough, if a bit of a tease. The brunette gulped and then opened his mouth. "I'm here to stop whatever is tormenting the village nearby…"

Kairi seemed unfazed by this as she merely nodded and urged him to continue. "Really? What did they say they were sending you after? I mean, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't take a strapping knight like you to scare an overgrown dog away!" Sora rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he chuckled a bit to himself.

"Well, I'm not actually a knight yet, I'm just a squire, but I'm sure that I'm going to become a great knight someday, you'll see!" His almost childish optimism provoked another round of giggles from Kairi.

"I'm sure you will!" she said in between giggles. "Anyway, what did they send you after anyway? I don't recall any carnivorous animals living nearby."

Now Sora was truly beginning to feel uncomfortable. Assuming that Kairi was telling the truth, and she had no reason to lie to him, at least not about carnivorous animals, that meant that a human must have been responsible for the havoc…and the auburn-haired girl looked like the prime suspect . "Well…they said that a demon might live here, and it's also possible that a rogue magic user might be stealing the animals and crops…" Sora tightened his grip on his sword as he slowly spoke; Kairi's reaction would either confirm or deny his hunch…in theory anyway.

"What?!" Kairi exclaimed as she bolted up from her previously relaxed position. Her tone had instantly changed from nonchalant and friendly to shocked and appalled. "They decided to send YOU after demon and desperate mages?! Those self-righteous bas-!"

"Er, actually, I came on my own…the villagers wanted me to go back and get someone stronger, but I couldn't just let them starve…" The brunette knight now felt incredibly embarrassed at even thinking of accusing Kairi of being responsible for causing all the fuss in the village. If she really was responsible, then she probably would have just blasted Sora out of existence right then and there, the girl had displayed a degree of magic prowess. Still, he couldn't help but wonder precisely what someone like Kairi could be doing; living in an abandoned castle, if she was innocent of the crimes Sora had mentally accused her of.

Kairi looked down at Sora in surprise, simply staring at him for several seconds before she relaxed on the railing again. "Oh…I see…"

"Yeah…so…is there any way you could help me solve the problem? Do you know who or what is responsible for stealing their food?"

Kairi nodded with another of her playful grins creeping across her face. "Of course, how could I refuse someone like you?" She giggled a bit as Sora looked away in embarrassment before she cleared her throat to get his attention and signify that she was through joking around with him. "Alright…I'm the one who's been stealing their food."

It took several seconds for Kairi's words to fully impact Sora as he took a nearly horrified step back. "Wh-what?! But you-!" Sora was unable to finish his sentence as feelings of betrayal began to wash over him. Just when he was beginning to think that Kairi was innocent, she turned out to be the one responsible for it all.

If Kairi noticed the depth of Sora's current feelings, she sure didn't show it. The auburn-haired girl simply shrugged casually in reply, not even looking at Sora. "What? A demon's got to eat too you know, and I can't exactly just walk into town and buy what I need!" She turned her view back to Sora and leaned forward on the railings again. "Besides, where's the fun in just buying it, anyway?"

"D-demon?!" Now Sora was actually getting scared. While Kairi had demonstrated a small degree of magical prowess, she was too young to be a mage of any considerable power. As a demon on the other hand…apart from being physically superior to humans, ruthlessly burning things happened to be something demons were rather infamous for, even if they were supposedly mere myth and rumors. "You're lying, demons don't exist!"

Once again, Kairi smiled in amusement. "Actually, I'm telling the truth, as weird as that sounds…here, I'll prove it to you, but I'm surprised that you didn't think of it for yourself. I live in an abandoned castle, can light numerous torches with a clap of my hands, and have no issues with being in the dark."

Without giving Sora a chance to reply, Kairi hoped over the side of the balcony and seemed to glide rather than fall down, she didn't even have to bend her knees to absorb the impact of the landing. A pair of medium sized forward-facing horn grew out of her head, followed by a pair of red, bat-like wings. Sora guessed that Kairi's dress left her shoulder blades bare since he didn't see o hear any torn fabric. "So, what were you planning on doing once you found me?" Kairi asked with a smirk.

Sora just stood rooted to the spot in horror for several seconds before he took a fighting stance with his sword. "Why don't you come closer and I'll tell you!" Antagonizing her was probably the dumbest thing Sora could have done at the moment, but it was the only thing that kept him from just turning around and running for the hills. Demon or not, Kairi was just as old as him, and Sora was almost unmatched in his class when it came to swordsmanship…only Riku could still compete with him!

Once again, Kairi seemed amused with Sora's actions. "Hmmm…no, I think I'll just let you come to me…or you could just leave if you want, I won't stop you." In reply, Sora simply yelled and charged towards her, sword at the ready. "…Why can't you just leave me alone?" the auburn-haired demon whispered to herself in a frustrated and slightly depressed manner, a sharp contrast to her previous flirtations.

As the brunette charged his opponent, she neatly step-sided him, throwing off his entire charge. Sora spun, swinging his sword as he did so, to force Kairi away from him before she could actually strike. If anything, Kairi seemed only mildly irritated by Sora's evasion.

She deftly jumped up into the air before Sora could do anything to stop her. The last thing Sora saw was Kairi snapping her fingers while soaring through the entrance hall, causing all of the candles to go out instantly.

"Wha-?!" Sora jerked around blindly, trying to see or hear something that would give him a clue to Kairi's whereabouts, but the darkness seemed to be much worse than it was when he first came in. Either he had spent much more time talking to Kairi than he thought, or she knew more about magic than he gave her credit for.

"I'm right here…" Sora spun around, swinging his sword as he did so. A "swish" sounded out through the air as his word hit nothing. The brunette didn't even have time to express his confusion when he felt someone's breathe on his face. Before Sora even had time to get embarrassed at the proximity of he and Kairi's faces, he felt two hands grip his wrists and twist them, forcing his sword out of his hands.

Sora struggled against Kairi's hold, freeing one of his hands as he swung wildly in front of him, trying to locate his enemy.

The brunette's fist collided with something that felt soft and yet fabric-like, he had managed to hit Kairi, but he wasn't sure where.

Sora would have grinned in triumph, but he felt pressure being applied to the hand that Kairi still held and felt himself being swung up into the air, and the n brutally slammed into the floor.

He struggled to his feet, determined to not let even the hard stone floor of the castle slow him down, but Kairi merely pressed her advantage. Sora choked as he felt Kairi's iron-like grip fasten around his neck and right hand as she began to squeeze.

The demon was going to strangle him into submission! As soon as this thought entered Sora's mind, he lashed out as violently as he could, but no matter how many times e buffeted Kairi, she managed to maintain her vise-like grip on his right and throat even as he lost consciousness.

"We'll finish this later…sleep well, handsome…" Sora wasn't able to tell if Kairi's tone was sarcastic or not as he began to pass out. Regardless, even he was certain that she was through playing games with him…

* * *

It was cold…the whole mountainside was cold…the freezing temperature of her current environment was all the young, gray-skinned woman could think of as she used her staff to support herself as she struggled up the mountainside, occasionally shooting a hatred-filled look at the sight of the kingdom behind and below her. It was all because of them that her cult had been disbanded and hunted down. While she cared nothing for any of her fellows personally, it was the idea of the thing and the fact that she was now forced to hide in these freezing mountains in nothing but a tattered brown robe, less than ideal clothing considering the snow-stained terrain.

"Fools!" she hissed venomously to herself as her short black hair swayed in the ice-cold wind. "How dare they claim that we were too weak to control the darkness! How dare they refuse us the power that was ours to claim!" Still, yelling into the wind would accomplish nothing, and the raven-haired witch knew it. As she trudged along, she struggled to fight off the urge to conjure up some of her signature green fire, but stopped, knowing that such an action would tip off the pursuers which were no doubt looking for her even as she was dying of the cold. The tracking wizards amongst the hunting parties would sense her use of black magic and would be upon her in a flash, they weren't the ones who had been running for their lives for several days straight!

The witch nearly fell into the snow several times before her destination was at last within sight, a cave that was nearly impossible to see, unless you knew where it was. Despite her situation, the witch grinned to herself, barely able to suppress the urge to laugh aloud. She staggered on; a smile that could curdle blood marked her face as she approached the entrance to the cave.

"Diablo!" she called out as she stepped through the entrance. The cave was anything but ordinary. Torches lit with magic flame that would not extinguish without the use of magic lined it walls, a table of sorts had a single knife on it amongst various other instruments of clearly magical origin, but what dominated the room was a large ritual circle carved into the hard stone flooring. This cave was used as a fallback position in case something like the eradication of their sect occurred…and it had…

A black raven swooped from out of the shadows, landing on the witch's shoulder and cooing as she stroked it before returning her attention to the ritual circle. She walked over to the table and picked up 

the knife, which already had all the necessary enchantments on it. All she needed to do was draw some of her own blood and mutter an incantation or two, and the ritual would be finished. Still, even after the trip she took to get here, and the lack of options, the witch hesitated as she stood with the knife ready to draw some of her own blood.

The ritual in question was a summon ritual, though it was far more…potent than any "normal" one. If used, it would open a "window" to the realm of darkness itself, and call upon one of the mightiest inhabitants there. It was the result of many years worth of research…even "weak" creatures from the realm were agonizingly hard to summon and control. In fact, this kind of ritual was untested, not one of the entities named "heartless" by her sect had been successfully summoned, only raw power of darkness that could be transferred to the summoner. The fact that several of the sorcerers who had called upon such ruinous power had been consumed by it did little to calm the witch.

Even if it was just a "window", the being she intended to bargain with would have at its command power beyond even her wildest dreams…if stray scraps from the realm of darkness itself could consume studied mages, then who was to say that one of the greater beings that resided there couldn't simply dominate her will with the flick of a wrist? Even if the being would only have a presence and not a true physical form, the witch was hesitant, for all she knew its raw power may be enough to allow it to directly interact with the her world…

The raven-haired woman shook her head furiously, disturbing her raven familiar, before she steeled herself for a single cut from the knife. No, it would be better to be consumed by darkness than exist in such lowly a state as a hunted fugitive, charged of treason by weak-minded fools who couldn't grasp the meaning of the word "power" or how to properly use it. No, the expression "It is better to rule in Hell than serve in Heaven" was this woman's motto and view on life.

With one last breathe, the witch braced herself and lightly cut her arm above the elbow, letting the blood seep down into the carving in the ground. At first, nothing happened…several seconds passed in breathless anticipation as the witch began to have doubts in her mind about whether or not the ritual would work. While she was an above-average mage, she had been weakened by the days of pursuit and a ritual of this magnitude may have demanded even more power than she would be capable of mustering even on one of her best days.

The truth was that the witch was just about to turn and leave to face her fate, when suddenly; her blood turned black and seemed to be pulled somehow and guided along the intricate markings of the ritual sign that was carved into the ground. She watched in fascination as the ritual circle was slowly stained and filled with the black substance…

A tall, armored figure began to slowly materialize before her very eyes. It had the transparency of a ghost, but it was intimidating nonetheless. The being became more and more solid and defined, but its transparency remained. At last, the summoned being was truly present. It was a tall, humanoid, figure clad in spiky black armor that completely covered it from head to toe. The only indication that there was in fact something alive inside of the armor were the two, glowing yellow eyes that scanned the cave and then focused solely on the raven-haired witch.

"You are…the one who called upon me?" the being's tone was neutral.

The witch visibly gulped before she responded. "I am…my name is Maleficent…I am the last that remains of my order.

"Yes, I'm familiar with what happened…" the black witch's apprehension skyrocketed. While the being before her would certainly make a powerful ally, getting it to cooperate with her would be difficult…

"Now then, I believe we have work to do…do you happen to know of an isolated town, one that no one would notice if all of its inhabitants were suddenly…swept away?" Maleficent was visibly surprised at the being's words.

"What?! You're going to assist me? Just like that?!" All she received was a tired nod.

"Of course…I grow stronger with the spread of darkness upon this world...we both stand to gain much if we combine our powers. I cannot manifest nor fully command my powers in this world, but with you as my avatar…I care nothing for the lands, titles, or currency of your world, and you care nothing for mine. Give me your service in spreading my influence across this world, and

Out of all the possible scenarios she had mentally imagined, this was the last one that Maleficent had predicted. All she did was nod in reply, still surprised that everything had gone so smoothly…and that she had learned something new about this "realm of darkness". Judging from the being's words, it might have been similar to her own…something that might be of use to her later. "Now then, as my herald, I grant you these boons…"

Maleficent looked down as a tingling sensation took over her body. Her robes began to stitch themselves together and turn into an inky black. A cap that sprouted a pair of dragon horns formed upon her head as well, and she could feel the ruinous power of darkness increasing her power by several orders of magnitude…it felt wonderful…addictive even.

"Yes…all this and more…we are bond to each other now. As my power increases, so will yours…" Small, black creatures began to from behind Maleficent. They were only about knee-height and seemed fairly unintimidating, but there claws were sharp and they were made of pure, undiluted dark power. A pair of antennae protruded from each of the creatures' heads as they looked about with jerky movements.

"These are called shadows…until my power in this world grows enough, they are the most I can send for you to command…but fear not. They might be small, but their ferocity is unmatched…and their numbers will swell with every heart that is claimed by darkness..."

Maleficent couldn't help but grin as she observed the beginnings of her army. If what her benefactor said was true, then all she would have to do to raise a force large enough to take a castle worthy of being her home as she worked to study the power of darkness was raid a few villages and…convert their inhabitants. "Excellent…" she started, barely able to contain the rapture in her voice. "I know of a few villages filled with fools ripe for the taking…and a castle that belongs to a senile old fool who can barely keep his own son under control, much less his kingdom…"

* * *

Sora's head pounded as he finally began to come to, Kairi really hadn't been holding back during their duel, and he was beginning to think that she wasn't very gentle when she dragged him here…

'Wait…where's "here"?' Sora slowly raised his head and tried to move his legs forward, but instead felt a stiff resistance. Again, he pulled and the resistance stopped him from budging. The brunette slowly became aware of a cold feeling on his wrists and ankles as he looked about.

Sora was in a cell of some sort; the door was wooden and had a small, barred window, no doubt there to allow his jailer to keep tabs on him without actually having to walk into the cell. The only thing that served to decorate the small room was a plain wooden chair. He looked to the side to see his arms pinned up above him by a pair of iron manacles and his legs were only slightly better…they weren't up in the air. Sora didn't bother checking to see if his sword was in the room, no one would be dumb enough to leave a lethal weapon so close to a prisoner unattended, no matter how well restrained they were.

Sora's heart began to pound as he heard footsteps coming from down what he assumed to be the hall that lead to his cell.

Kairi walked in with a passive expression on her face, her horns and wings were gone. She barely even glanced at him to acknowledge his presence, despite the fact that she herself had put him there. She slowly walked towards him after closing the cell door, turning the wooden chair to face the brunette prisoner, and then sitting down in it with her legs crossed underneath her dress. "…Well?"

Sora was taken off-guard by the suddenness, and vagueness of her question. "What do you mean "well"?"

Kairi huffed and angrily rolled her eyes. "Aren't you going to explain why I shouldn't kill you here and now?" She said it as though it was the most obvious thing in the world

The brunette felt his blue orbs widen in surprise at the casualness of Kairi's words, he didn't even notice the anger that was thinly veiled in her tone, just waiting to be unleashed. "What?! Kill me?! But why?!" Sora had just won the award for the poorest choice of last words anyone had ever uttered to a demon jailer.

"Why? WHY?!" Kairi jerked up out of her chair, her demonic features emerging once more. "You waltz into my home and try to kill me! Why do you think I would kill you! You're lucky you're still alive right now!" The auburn-haired girl took several deep breathes as she sat back down in her chair, glaring at Sora. "You had better have a damn good explanation for wanting to kill me just because I took what I needed to survive…"

"Well I…" Sora paused with his mouth open. He had never really stopped to see things from Kairi's perspective…and he realized that he couldn't possibly come up with anything that would calm her down. "…I don't have a good one…I just wanted to help those people…I'm…sorry…" He hung his head downward, unable to look Kairi in the eye. She may have been a demon, but she looked and acted like any other human that Sora had ever met…that, and he really didn't want to know how she intended to kill him…

He remained like that for what felt like hours, but given Sora's complete lack of patience, it was probably only a minute. At last, he couldn't contain his curiosity anymore, he looked up to see that Kairi was standing right in front of him; her face was too close to his for comfort. Sora's mouth was agape as yet another blush forced its way onto his features, he couldn't even bring himself to ask Kairi how on earth she had gotten so close without even alerting him.

Kairi made no comment on his blush-stained face, she just stood there, staring at him so intently, Sora felt like his very soul was being examined. "…I won't kill you, but you have to agree to do something for me…" Kairi finally backed away, a playful smile on her face as she slowly ran her finger along the length of Sora's right arm, moving towards the manacle that held it.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Sora asked nervously as Kairi slowly unfastened the binding that held his right hand, she was taking her time with the lock, not that she was in any particular hurry in the first place. The blue-eyed brunette was every bit as pure-minded as he looked, but that didn't stop him from getting nervous with Kairi's behavior, or picturing some kind of satanic ritual.

"Oh, it's nothing big or morally wrong, so don't worry that spiky head of yours," she replied nonchanalantly as she finally released his right hand, allowing it to drop to Sora's side. "I won't keep you locked up for the rest of your life or kill you, if you agree to be my guest for the next three days, then you can decide if I'm really the monster you think I am…"

"What?!" Sora yelled out in surprise, causing Kairi to smirk to herself as she unfastened Sora's other limbs.

"We both know that you can't beat me in a fight, at least not in my own home, and I have ways of knowing whenever someone tried to get in or out of this castle." Kairi playfully poked Sora's stomach just to get a reaction out of him. There was something…special, even cute, about his reactions to her behavior. "So, do we have a deal?"

"Well…I'm pretty sure that it's against the rules to make deals with demons…but I guess I really don't have a choice…I'm sure Cloud would understand!" Sora was somehow able to make his statement end on a happy note as he thought of one of the most distinguished knights of Radiant Garden: Cloud Strife. The man was Sora's idol and a living legend…not to mention the one who had personally instructed Sora and Riku's class in the ways of knighthood!

"Oh, I had no idea that your noble band of knights were so…biased…one might think that they even qualify as racists…" Kairi's tone started out in the same cheerful and teasing one that she seemed to favor, but it ended quietly, practically a whisper. Sora was just about to say something, anything to get Kairi to snap out of it when she suddenly seemed to do it herself. "Oh well…I guess they wouldn't be human if they didn't have flaws…hey, can I trust you with a secret?" Kairi had undone the last of Sora's bindings and placed the tips of her fingers on his breastplate to keep him in place.

"Um..sure…" Sora's reply was nervous as Kairi grinned and slowly leaned forward so that he could feel her breath on his neck as she began to whisper to him.

"I'm half human…" Kairi drew back and began to giggle and then outright laugh at Sora's look of shock as she turned and began to leave the room. "Well, aren't you coming, or do you like it in here?"

He ran up to walk alongside her as she led him through the corridors of what was the dungeon, and then up a staircase. "Hey, can I ask you something, Kairi?"

She shrugged in reply. "Of course, what kind of host would I be if I kept my guests in the dark…well, my GOOD guests that aren't trying to kill me…" Kairi shot Sora a mischievous grin, no doubt thinking of how she pulverized him earlier. It was probably just the half-demon's way of getting even with Sora for his attempt on her life.

"Why are you doing this?" Sora couldn't help it; his curiosity was going to kill him as surely as a sword in the gut if he didn't get an answer from his "host". To his surprise, Kairi stopped and actually seemed to be seriously pondering her motives. For a moment, Sora thought she was going to knock him out and lock him up again, if he was lucky, but she just turned to him with a smile on her face.

"Because…I like you you…you're just too funny to be mean to!" The half demon playfully flicked the already thoroughly embarrassed Sora's nose and then continued to walk up the steps, giggling at his facial expression.

For Sora, this was easily going to be the oddest experience of his life…he just wan't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

Finally! Well, I hope you guys aren't mad about the changes to Kairi's personality; she's deeper than she seems, but I don't think it takes a genius to figure out what her demon half is, so she really can't help but be a bit of a flirt.

Anyway, please tell me what you think in your review, I've really been working hard on this chapter!


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner Plans

Notes: Okay, I've been having just a little trouble coming up with how to kick off this chapter, but I finally came up with some ideas to move things along…feel free to start cheering for me. Anyway, as always, taking the time to read this is good, but reviews are just plain awesome…mainly because they're what keep me going and allow me to improve my writing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts…if I did, then there would have been a Pirates of the Caribbean level in the first game! (C'mon, who can honestly say they hate Jack Sparrow?)

* * *

Sora could feel it smothering him…the darkness was everywhere…it was almost like being stuck at the bottom of an ocean, only far, far worse.

All of his senses seemed to scream in agony, it was suffocating…he wasn't even able to feel his limbs…Sora could feel himself being dragged deeper and deeper into what seemed like a bottomless abyss…

"Wake up already, you lazy bum!" Sora jerked awake, suddenly aware of something being moved away from his face, the voice he recognized as Kairi's.

"Huh, what?!" The brunette jerked up as though he had just been stabbed, partially out of panic and partially out of habit. Cloud had managed to succeed in turning Sora in a semi-slight sleeper…that is, he slept like a log but if someone woke him up, then he tended to spring out of bed in an overly-energetic manner…

Kairi was standing next to his bedside with a mischievous grin and a pillow in both hands. There was no doubt in Sora's mind now about where his feeling of being smothered came from…apparently Kairi was even more of a prankster than he had given her credit for. Somehow, that thought was both relieving and troubling to Sora at the same time. It meant that Kairi probably had a sense of humor much like his…but at the same time, it meant that the brunette was going to have to keep his guard up…demons, even half demons like Kairi claimed she was, weren't exactly known for their fine senses of morality. The auburn haired girl might think poisoning his food was side splittingly funny.

"What, is something wrong?" Kairi asked, tilting her head sideways a bit as she lowered the pillow she had been using to smother him only a few seconds ago.

"Um, no, sorry, I was just-," Sora caught himself before he could say anything else. Why was HE the one apologizing?! She just smothered him with a pillow! Granted, Sora knew from Riku's frequent complaints that he could go on sleeping all day unless someone woke him up, which was an almost herculean task, but did it really give Kairi the right to stoop to smothering him with a pillow. Resolve filled the brunette as he looked the girl straight in her crystal blue eyes and braced himself for whatever was to come.

"…I'm still just a little sleepy…" Mentally, Sora winced and then wept. He simply couldn't look Kairi in the eye and then tell her off. Sora always did have a reputation for being overly-soft, something Riku never seemed to cease admonishing him for, he always just shrugged it off until now…apparently he really was a bit too soft for his own good. If he couldn't even tell off one girl for nearly smothering him with a pillow, then what did that say about him? Still, Sora was also known for one other semi-infamous trait…his almost blind sense of optimism. It was something he took pride in, no matter how many times the cynics he sometimes found himself working rolled their eyes, Sora always managed to at least cheer them up. There wasn't much that could crush his spirits and a little smothering with a pillow and not being able to get upset with the girl who did it wasn't even going to keep him upset for more than a few seconds at most.

"Alright then," Kairi replied with a grin, apparently she was in good humor after the prank she pulled on her guest, "I'll be waiting downstairs for you while you get dressed…unless you enjoy eating breakfast in those pajamas I loaned you!" Kairi giggled at the expression that had etched itself across Sora's face before turning around a leaving, obviously, she enjoyed messing around with him like this. He rubbed the last bits of sleep from his eyes before hopping out of his bed and walking over towards the wardrobe on the wall.

The bedroom that Kairi was loaning him for the duration of his stay was much like the rest of the castle in its overall atmosphere. It was seemingly ruined and old, but nevertheless luxurious and tidy. A number of red curtains decorated the walls, along with a red rug that had numerous golden patterns emblazoned into it. There was also a desk and a bookcase, though Sora hadn't bothered to examine either just yet, Kairi had given him a tour of the castle to get him familiar enough with it so that he wouldn't wind up lost that lasted the entire first day, not counting meals and the time Sora spent napping, so he really hadn't had much time to do anything.

The brunette paused as he opened the wardrobe; it had his armor and clothing in it, as well as several other sets of clothing.

Somehow, Sora got the impression that Kairi had been busy "acquiring" them from the village that had sent him here in the first place…she had already show that she was quite adept at sneaking around, and being in the castle did seem to give Kairi borderline omniscience within its confines.

Once again, Sora's thoughts turned to his rather unusual situation, even as he exchanged the pajamas that Kairi had loaned him without specifying where (or who) she got them from.

The truth was, he didn't know what to think of her, or even how he was going to explain all of this when once the three days were up, assuming Riku didn't come storming into the place once he found out what happened.

Sora abruptly froze.

Riku…he had been totally forgotten about Riku! Sora knew that the silver-haired boy wasn't the kind to dilly dally, and he was a very fast rider. What was he going to do when Riku started asking questions in the village? The villagers would undoubtedly tell him how his chocolate-haired friend ran off into the creepy, abandoned castle and didn't come back…and Riku wasn't quite as prone to try and talk things 

out as Sora was….Kairi's heritage was unlikely to help matters either. Even if her claim of being only half demon was true, it wasn't likely to help calm Riku down when he found out what had happened…

A wave of panic began to take over Sora as he rapidly got dressed in a simple white tunic and a pair of brown pants. There didn't seem to be any way out of this, Riku would eventually storm into the castle, sword drawn, and Kairi would no doubt do the same thing to him as she did to Sora…though Riku probably lacked the sense of innocence that the brunette possessed…actually, he was too prideful to apologize at all, even to his best friend!

Of course, he could try warning Kairi ahead of time since he couldn't contact Riku and the silver-haired youth wasn't likely to listen to him once he found out about Kairi's true nature, and if he did warn Kairi ahead of time, then he'd be betraying Riku…there seemed to be no way out!

Sora's stomach picked that moment to complain loudly, causing the brunette to put both hands on top of it out of reflex….he'd probably be able to think better on a full stomach anyway!

* * *

Sora took a deep breath as he mentally readied himself for breakfast with his host, even though his subconscious knew there was simply no point in trying. Slowly, the brunette entered the dining room, instantly spotting Kairi at the far end of a long table adorned with food.

The rumbling in his stomach seemed to stop instantly…and it wasn't because of the food.

Kairi was beautiful even as she held her head in her hand; her elbow was resting on the table, looking bored and even a bit miserable. Time seemed to freeze for Sora as she looked up; her previously bored expression seemed to instantly change into one of sincere joy at seeing him.

"Sora!" she called out cheerfully before she seemed to notice that he was practically stunned. "What's wrong? I thought you were hungry?"

Instantly, Sora shook himself from his daze, thankful that Kairi hadn't realized that he was stunned at her.

"Oh, um, I am, I am…I was just…thinking!" he chuckled nervously while Kairi raised an eyebrow and shrugged a bit. It wasn't exactly the smoothest response he could have uttered, but at least it could have been worse…

"You know, I really didn't figure you for the kind who thought a lot…" Kairi said, playing with a spoon between two of her seemingly delicate fingers. "What exactly were you thinking about….or did something just capture your attention and cause your jaw to slacken?" Sora tensed and froze as Kairi smirked in satisfaction before turning her attention to her food.

Okay, so it was indeed the worst reply he could have used…

Still, despite his now-heated ears, Sora had more important things to deal with than his overwhelming sense of embarrassment… like how he was going to fix his current predicament.

It seemed to be an utterly impossible situation…simply trying to escape from Kairi was more or less impossible because of whatever magic seemed to permeate the castle and aid her, and he didn't want her to be harmed either. It was nearly impossible for Sora to explain but…even if she was a demon-spawn and was obviously looting the village near her castle in order to sustain herself, he couldn't help but feel a sense of attachment to her…Kairi just acted too nicely to be a monster!

The brunette began to poke unconsciously at his food as he struggled to come up with a solution to his dilemma…

"Alright, what's bothering you?" Sora jerked up from his plate to see Kairi hovering over him with an expression that was both concerned and curious at the same time.

How on earth did she teleport like that?! Either Kairi was very, very good at sneaking around, or she could literally glide across entire rooms at will.

"N-no!" he stuttered, surprised and embarrassed. Kairi seemed to posses the unnatural ability to read him like an open book, a trait that did little to ease Sora's mind when he was around her.

Her blue eyes scanned him, looking deeply into his eyes before she sighed and pulled back, turning around to return to her chair. "…I don't mind, Sora…I haven't told you everything about myself either…"

The Sora felt a knot for in his throat as Kairi spoke; her tone was depressed and almost resigned in contrast to her typically cheerful and teasing voice. A wave of guilt came over him as Kairi unenthusiastically poked at her food in a manner that mirrored his. As silly as it sounded, seeing her like this was agonizing…Sora couldn't bear to see anyone so depressed, and the fact that he was responsible for Kairi's change of mood didn't help things either.

Silently, he pushed himself away from the table and stood up. Kairi didn't even seem to notice.

Part of him was disappointed, it would have been so much easier if she had just asked him if something was wrong a second time, but it seemed he would have to be the one to start the conversation. Sora just couldn't decide whether it was God punishing him or the devil tormenting him.

The brunette steadily and soundlessly walked towards Kairi with a gulp even though she didn't even glance or up acknowledge his presence.

Finally, he found himself standing directly next to her chair…and there was still no response at all, she just keep fiddling with her food while supporting her head with her arm, which was no resting elbow-first on the table.

He hadn't thought that his evasiveness was going to get her THIS upset…but then; Sora probably would have acted the same way if someone he was trying to befriend was openly keeping secrets from him…assuming that Kairi was indeed trying to befriend him! Treating someone who had invaded your 

home to either kill or capture you as a guest just because they apologized sincerely was something that not even Sora was naïve enough to do, yet Kairi was doing just that. The notion was paradoxical and seemingly without explanation in the brunette's mind…unless…maybe she was just lonely?

A slight shift in Kairi's position snapped Sora out of his thoughts instantly. She was now looking at him, apparently finally noticing his presence. Panic rose in his chest as Kairi looked him over with her beautiful blue eyes, though she did it in a half-hearted and depressed manner, as if it were merely a habit that she had yet to break. It was as if Sora's insides had suddenly been frozen, robbing him of breathe while forcing his mouth open regardless of his wishes. Before, he had acknowledged and even been stunned by Kairi's unnatural beauty, but it had been from a distance…now that he was this close to her...

Even in her current state, she was still shockingly beautiful, it was almost unnatural.

Kairi said nothing, absolutely nothing, though something in her eyes changed…but Sora was unable to determine what it was. Was she upset, entertained, or merely curious about Sora's expression and the fact that he had been standing there, staring at her, for about half a minute with his mouth hung open like a fish out of water?

"K-Kairi…I-I'm…sorry," Sora finally managed to stutter out after taking several deep breathes. Just approaching her like this was enough to send shivers that weren't entirely unpleasant down hi s spine, much less staring so intently at her before making a poor attempt at an apology. He mentally braced himself for some kind of negative reaction that would indicate that he had failed, that she was insulted by his pitiful attempt to make up. Perhaps Kairi would just quietly leave the room, or maybe she would tell him to leave her home right then and there?

…Perhaps she would berate him, or even make good on her threat to either kill or imprison him for life!

Sora closed his eyes tightly out of reflex before his brain could even protest against the stupidity of such action, it wouldn't change a thing and it just made him look even more ridiculous to Kairi!

Two seconds passed…then eight…then ten…

Slowly, the brunette cracked his eyes open and slowly opened them to see Kairi still sitting in her chair at the table, she hadn't budged one inch! At first, Sora was dumbstruck. Had his apology meant absolutely nothing to her? The only thing worse than Kairi reacting negatively to him, was not reacting at all. At least she saw him as worth her time to torment if she hated him, but if Kairi ignored him, then he wasn't even worth the air or energy it would take to be rid of him!

For some reason, that notion stung Sora far worse than anything he had ever experienced beforehand had.

Slowly, Kairi stood up out of her chair and turned to face him…there was definitely something about her eyes that had changed, of that much Sora was sure.

He gulped and tried to take a step back, but found his legs unwilling to move, it was as if they were made of lead! Sora realized that he was now uncomfortably close to Kairi, not quite close enough to feel her breath or anything, but it was enough to start alarm bells in his mind. Then, at that moment, Kairi did something that Sora didn't that she'd ever do, even in a dream!

She took a step forward and hugged him…Kairi had HUGGED him!

Almost instantly Sora felt heat rush to his face as her bare arms wrapped themselves around his back. He could feel the warmth of her body as it was pressed against his, the feeling of her breath on his neck nearly made his knees buckle. It was unlike any sensation he had experienced before, the hug was just as terrifying as it was exhilarating, it was truly indescribable.

And yet, Sora found himself unable to move. Half of him wanted to return the hug, to wrap his own arms around Kairi and draw her closer, but the other half wanted to draw away out of sheer shock…neither side, however, got what it wanted. Sora just stood there, barely able to comprehend what had just happened. "…Thank you, Sora…" he stiffened as the auburn haired girl whispered into his ear as she slowly drew back. Shockingly, Kairi actually seemed to be embarrassed by her actions as she backed away, looking down at the ground.

Sora was inwardly pleased by this, despite not being in much better condition…it was nice to finally see her getting a taste of her own medicine! Still, his moment of silent triumph was quickly ruined when Kairi seemed to regain her composure almost instantly. "What's wrong, Sora? Aren't you going to ask WHY I thanked you or even say 'you're welcome'?" The smirk on her face was enough to snap Sora back into reality almost instantly.

In reply, Sora simply crosses his arms and looked away stubbornly. He may not have been a particularly prideful person, but he did have his dignity…and there was o way he was going to let Kairi take that! Still…he was curious, and he was pretty sure that Kairi got the message anyway…

"…Alright, why did you thank me?" he asked in a reluctant tone as he slowly looked back at Kairi's still-smirking face.

"Well…I think I'll let you take a guess…"

"What?!" Sora exclaimed, genuinely surprised. "I thought you said you were going to tell me!" Kairi simply giggled to herself and shook her head as she walked past him, apparently intending to leave the room.

"No, I just guessed that you were going to ask, I didn't make any promises!" Kairi paused a moment and then turned around. "But if you really must know…well, you're the first human to actually care about me…" Sora recoiled, visibly taken aback at her realization.

"Wha-?! Well I…uh…" How was he supposed to answer this? There didn't seem to be a way he could say anything and not be teased by Kairi in one way or another, she had already shown that she enjoyed toying with him in such a manner, and there was nothing to stop her from continuing.

"Don't worry your secret's safe with me," Kairi said with a smile as she turned around once. "I'm not really hungry anymore, but I'm willing to bet you are…just call for me when you're done, I'm pretty sure I'll have found something for us to do by then…"

* * *

Maleficent couldn't have possibly been more happy than she was right now one of the many recently burned and abandoned villages. The creatures her benefactor called "heartless" had proved to be far more effective than she had ever dared to dream, and they seemed to be growing more powerful with each person they "converted". It had been easy for Maleficent and her benefactor to overtake the numerous villages and towns that surrounded the part of the kingdom they were in. All they needed to do was lead the heartless through what the dark entity called "corridors of darkness" and unleash them upon the citizens.

The only thing that really did serve to affect Maleficent's otherwise perfect mood, was the fact that her benefactor wouldn't let the heartless simply "convert" all of the people they came across…he was taking a fair number of them as what seemed to be prisoners even though they had no real sanctuary yet. Of course, she could do little to protest, the heartless and her new-found powers were owed to the armored entity. As much as Maleficent hated to admit it, she was currently a puppet for the armored figure… an indispensible and free-willed puppet, but a puppet nonetheless.

Still, is she had to curb her ambition for just a little longer…the black witch had managed to keep her pride under control before, and she could certainly do it again. Still, she was quite curious as to what her benefactor wanted prisoners for. Maleficent quietly walked towards the massive armored figure, who was surveying the numerous villagers who were under the guard of a force of shadow heartless.

"Why did you stop the heartless from simply consuming them?" Maleficent asked, mentally wincing at the apparent heavy-handiness of the question, though she could think of no other way to phrase it.

The black armored figure turned around to face her, still looking somewhat transparent. He, for the entity's voice did sound masculine, seemed to regard her for several seconds underneath his helmet, making it impossible to even guess at what he was thinking or even feeling.

…Not that Maleficent was particularly good at judging facial expressions…

"If you must know, I require them for some…experiments. As you may know, darkness can have very…interesting effects on you humans, though not even your order was able to even begin to understand that concept." Maleficent barely managed to stop herself from making some kind of indignant remark at her benefactor's apparent dismissal of what she knew of manipulating darkness, but stayed her tongue. It was the truth, apart from calling upon one or two of the shadow heartless and infusing herself with darkness and hoping that it didn't overtake her, Maleficent truly didn't know much about how darkness could interact with a human.

"I could accomplish much with just a few subjects…and this world of yours isn't as defenseless against my kind as you may think…"

Maleficent couldn't help but visibly express her surprise at the idea. Yes, her little order of mages had been dismantled and hunted to near-extinction despite wielding the power of darkness, but the truth was that they were mere dabblers when it came to the dark arts. Still, even that small amount of power was enough to send an entire kingdom into panic, the capabilities of her unnamed benefactor must have been borderline infinite. If a being that clearly had a great deal of influence in the actual realm of darkness was worried about some kind of hidden power in this world, then it must truly be an awe-inspiring force.

Before the black witch could actually ask anything about whatever the being of darkness was worried about, he suddenly turned away from her and faced the prisoners. "Hm, is something wrong?"

She didn't even get an answer to that question as the armored figure simply walked toward and literally through the prisoners taking advantage of his incorporeal state. He walked straight up to a boy in his mid-teens who was kneeling on the ground, hands tied behind his back like all of the others that were corralled into the center of the ruined village by the heartless.

There didn't seem to be anything particularly special about the boy…he was dressed in typical clothing for a humble villager and his features were fairly unremarkable as well. He had dark blond hair and blue eyes…not much else worth mentioning, although his face did seem familiar, somehow…

Maleficent walked up behind the black armored figure in curiosity as he kneeled down to examine the youth closer. The boy certainly seemed frightened by the towering figure as he seemed to stare intently at him before signaling for one of the shadow-heartless to come to him.

"You…what's your name?"

The boy seemed as surprised as Maleficent was at the sudden and seemingly random question. "…Ven…" his tone was understandably apprehensive and wary; Maleficent could clearly see his eyes glancing at the heartless's claws.

"Really?" The being of darkness seemed surprised by this and made another motion to the heartless. It instantly clamped its claws into Ven's hair and pulled it up into a messy, spiky, and even gravity defying position. "Because right now you look like a little boy I once…met…his name was Roxas…"

Maleficent quietly gasped in surprise.

"Roxas?! You mean Lord Ansem's son?!" Ven exclaimed, he seemed genuinely surprised. Maleficent had to admit, it did tickle her twisted sense of humor to imagine him being slain or converted into a heartless for having the misfortune to look like someone else that he'd probably never even met.

"Yes…" The armored figure replied curtly, releasing Ven's hair and standing up once more. "That expression expression 'the sins of the father' would be appropriate…Maleficent, tell me, how long did that boy last before he succumbed to that…condition he developed? Last time I checked his father was someone very important to you humans; surely you know when the boy died!"

A few moments of awkward silence passed between Maleficent, Ven, and the being of darkness before the black witch finally managed to bring up the courage to talk...he probably wasn't going to like what she was going to say, but there was little she could do…lying simply wasn't an option.

"…Actually, the boy's father managed to find a cure for his son's sickness shortly after his wife died...are you saying you had something to do with that affair?!" Maleficent could remember it as though it was yesterday, even though the incident in question had happened fifteen or so years ago….it was difficult to keep track of the passage of time when calendars required a small fortune to purchase. At the time she was just a young and foolish girl who had yet to have her eyes opened…

She had lived in a walled town in the part of the Kingdom of Radiant Garden she was currently assailing; it was a fairly plain location for someone to grow up. One day, a messenger came and spread news of how the lord and master of the entire region, Lord Ansem's, son had fallen desperately ill with some kind of disease that seemed to be immune to anything and everything his physicians tried. In short, since medicine had failed, Ansem had begun to turn to magic…he was searching for mages, or anyone or anything who could save his little boy at that time.

Eventually, he found someone, some witch of no real significance, that somehow managed to cure Roxas, though he still required medication to the current day…still, the fact that the boy had reputedly been able to best most professional soldiers showed that he was hardly crippled by the entire affair. Still, the fact that such an influential and powerful noble nearly lost his one and only heir did send ripples throughout the entire land…now that she thought of it, if Roxas had died, the consequences would have been…dire, to put it mildly.

The being of darkness said nothing for several seconds that seemed to last an eternity, he just stood there, seemingly mulling over Maleficent's words.

The witch couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head as she simply stood there, waiting for his reaction…she would have given much to learn what exactly her benefactor was thinking…

Finally, the armored being moved and extended a hand in front of it, summoning another corridor of darkness. "Come…I have a bit of a…history with "Lord" Ansem, as you call him…I would very much like to see how his offspring has been doing of late as well…"

So, Lord Ansem and her benefactor had somehow made contact before she even joined her little order of dark mages? This new piece of information was instantly absorbed an archived in Maleficent's mind for later use…it may have been an unimportant fact to her benefactor, but to her, such knowledge could prove incredibly useful…

She was just about to enter the dark door when another one opened up behind both her and the armored being of darkness. A single shadow-heartless came running out of it, it ran straight up to her benefactor, who took a knee, seemingly to listen to some message that escaped Maleficent's ability to decipher…the heartless obeyed her verbal commands, but they seemed to have a completely different way of communicating to each other and their master…

The being of darkness seemed to nod and then glance at Ven, who hadn't moved or even said a thing after his "conversation" with him and Maleficent. The hulking black entity stood up once more and walked up to the Maleficent, apparently with yet another plan in mind. "…Fascinating…" he murmured, seemingly out of habit before turning to Maleficent to address her directly. "It would appear that we shall be witnessing one of the may possible outcomes that can result when darkness is mixed with a human very soon…come, you'll understand what I mean soon enough…this portal leads to the city and fortress that Ansem calls home." The being motioned with his clawed hand to illustrate, did he take her for some kind of fool, or was it just a habit of some sort? Regardless, Maleficent resisted the urge to say or do anything that could tip her benefactor off to her irritation. "Something very…interesting has begun to develop and it requires my personal attention…I trust you'll enjoy using that power I gave you without restraint?"

Maleficent's eyes almost instantly lit up at the thought as a wicked smile crossed her face at the mere thought. "Of course…" she replied in a cool manner, though her inner wickedness burned within. Now was her chance for vengeance, to show all of the fools that had rejected her true power and just why they feared the darkness….

"…You may do with Ansem as you wish, but do not harm his son or the one who currently tends to him…they may prove vital if this world is to be embraced by the eternal night…" With that, the being of darkness spun around and entered the portal that the lone shadow heartless had created, fading into it instantly.

Maleficent laughed wickedly before motioning to the portal in front of her, signaling her heartless to begin the attack. As they swarmed past her, she was already picturing how to redecorate Ansem's castle once she was done with him and all of those who refused to submit to her…the black witch had always did have a fondness for plants…particularly ones with thorns…

* * *

Okay, I know it's not a very exciting chapter, but we're getting there! Riku's going to make his first direct appearance in the story in the next chapter, and possibly Roxas and Namine as well.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, "Ven" is the name of the Roxas look-alike from Birth by Sleep…those of you familiar with my very first KH story probably can take a guess at what his presence in this story means…don't worry, the spotlight's going to stay on Sora, and the main cast, but they just won't be the only ones suffering from all of the horrendous stuff I have planned…

Please don't forget to review; I don't mind criticism as long as it's constructive and helpful.


	3. Chapter 3: Riku's Rage

Notes: Okay, I decided to write this chapter next since inspiration in my other stories isn't coming as quickly as I had hoped, and you guys seem to enjoy this story a lot, judging from the number of reviews, so I just put two and two together

Anyway, this is the chapter that Riku finally gets introduced in…insert unenthusiastic cheer

Personally, I don't see why people like him so much, but whatever…I promise I won't torture him…much…well, not enough to make him go insane!

That said, I'd like to take just one more minute of your time to thank my reviewers so far since I seriously would have given up on writing if it wasn't for them. So thank you, Luvablenerd, Scorch406, Lebrizie, BiggestKingdomHeartsFanEver, Krystal Lilly Potter, and Miss Captain-Mad Dog Vane!

…I don't suppose those of you with longer names would make a fuss if I just abbreviated you, would you?

* * *

With but a slight flicker of light, a shadow-cloaked figure hurried through the darkened corridors of the castle Kairi called her home. It was late at night now, and the only source of light was the candles that the half-demon had left lit for that purpose. The shadowed figure moved without making a single sound, yet it moved at a rapid pace. Finally, the figure seemed to reach its chosen destination, one door amongst many in the left wing of the castle.

The door was opened soundlessly as the figure walked into Sora's bedroom, slowly approaching the sleeping brunette with all the grace and stealth of a hungry predator on the prowl. Even if the young knight wasn't a heavy sleeper, he still would not have had the slightest reason to suspect that someone was quietly hovering over his bedside, looking down upon his sleeping form.

The figure shifted just enough for the moonlight that seeped through one of the windows to illuminate its head, revealing auburn hair.

The figure was none other than Kairi, the mistress of the abandoned castle, checking up on the first "guest" that she had had in an extremely long time. Her blue eyes scanned him as she silently pulled up the chair that was positioned next to the desk that was supposed to be used for reading…naturally; Sora hadn't used it during his entire stay.

As she looked over him, Kairi could feel various emotions flowing through her. This was the last day of his stay with her…in the morning he would have one hell of a decision to make. Throughout his entire stay, she had been well-aware of his dilemma and worry over what would happen once his time with her was up, she would have to have been as blind as a bat to not be able to read Sora's blatantly obvious emotions!

A fair amount of it was indeed selfishness on Kairi's part…it was funny watching him squirm every time she intentionally got too close for the brunette's comfort or did something that seemed to prove that she wasn't the monster he thought that she was…and she wasn't!

Could she help it if it was in her nature to be flirtatious or to enjoy watching his face redden as the blood ran up to his face every time she teased him in one way or another? Granted, Kairi didn't exactly try to suppress her demon side, but watching Sora's reactions was simply too fun a past-time to resist!

Of course, all of that was going to end soon, one way or another…and she was genuinely going to miss him either way. As much as she enjoyed toying with him, Kairi did have a degree of true affection for the brunette, he wasn't just a toy for her amusement! His innocence and rather naive view of the world were endearing rather than annoying, to her anyway.

The time she had spent with him, though short, was definitely the greatest experience she had had in years.

Of course, there was one question that was dominating Kairi's mind at the moment…what would Sora do?

…No, that wasn't what she really should have been asking herself. The real question was what COULD he do?

Initially, Kairi had found the situation that she had trapped Sora in to be amusing…but now that she had actually gotten to know him, to realize that he wasn't quite the brute that she had originally thought he was, she was actually beginning to feel guilt and regret…

She sighed to herself and stretched out her hand, lightly rubbing it against Sora's face. Just as Kairi anticipated, he barely even reacted to it, not even a slight murmur came forth from the brunette…not that she would have wanted a reaction from him.

For once, the auburn haired half-breed was glad that her guest wouldn't nervously take a step back, stuttering as his face slowly reddened. As much as she enjoyed exercising the appropriately named "power of a woman" over him, now was not the time for such games…

There was a great deal you could tell about a person by the feel of their flesh alone, and Sora was no exception.

His was smooth and cool to touch…it was very…unique…pleasant even.

But of course, Kairi already knew that the brunette was basically a good person…she just hadn't gotten the chance to make direct physical contact with him. Oh yes, she had practically put her face terribly close to his and even outright hugged him at one point, but none of those actions could truly allowed her to literally "feel" what kind of person Sora was…

Being half Succubus did have its advantages…

"…What am I going to do with you?" Kairi whispered as she withdrew her hand.

Things were so much simpler when she felt that the whole world was her enemy…and then this foolish young knight stumbled into her home, planning on killing her. In hindsight, it was easier when all who entered the castle were her enemies; she never had to worry about regretting anything that she did to them…and then Sora came. It would be so much easier for both of them if she were to become his enemy once more. It would be so much easier to simply hit him on the head with a piece of lumber from the fireplace and imprison him in the dungeon once more…

Actually, the thought of having mastery over him that way was quite appealing to part of her…but of course, Kairi was smart enough to know not to give into such impulses in times like these.

…Still, it was a pretty tempting idea…

Despite herself, a small smirk and a quiet giggle emerged from Kairi's lips as her imagination conjured up several images of the possibilities that could happen if she went through with that idea…naturally, she took the time to enjoy the brief moment of freedom before refocusing on how to get both herself and Sora out of their dilemmas.

Being a half-demon made these kinds of situations especially hard…Kairi had both her demonic instincts and her human hormones to put up with…not to mention the fact that Sora was rather handsome in his own way …

The auburn haired girl froze and then shook her head.

Damn, her demonic side was really acting up around the brunette…probably out of the desire to corrupt anything innocent…and humans rarely got more innocent than Sora!

Obviously, imprisoning him was out…not only would it antagonize Sora, but someone would come looking for him, and even with the castle's power at her command, Kairi couldn't fight off a whole army!

Of course, simply letting him go wouldn't do any good for either of them…he would have to try to kill her out of duty, forcing her to either kill or imprison him, or try and explain away what took him so long…and Sora didn't strike Kairi as much of a liar.

Kairi sighed again and leaned forward a bit, holding her head in her hands, as she wracked her brain for some kind of miraculous burst of inspiration that would save the day for both her and the sleeping brunette in front of her…and nothing seemed to be working.

She abruptly bolted up when a sound that she wasn't able to identify rang out. It was so low that Kairi was just about to dismiss it as her imagination when an uncomfortable and tingling sensation wracked her whole body.

Her blue eyes narrowed as she stood up.

The sensation was an all too familiar one…it happened whenever someone entered the castle without an invitation from her, and judging from the sound she heard earlier, the intruder entered through one of the window on the upper floors…he or she was obviously here to do harm, and they were going about it in a way that was far more subtle and more cunning than most "visitors".

Thus, the person was either a thief or perhaps a companion of Sora's?

She glanced over at the still sleeping brunette. It seemed only natural to assume that he had a companion of sorts…regardless of how skilled swordsman Sora seemed, it would be idiotic to think that his order would send someone as young as him alone on any kind of mission that might entail an outbreak of violence, regardless of how small.

The auburn-haired girl's mind was made up, and nothing was going to change it...nothing!

She would just have to capture the intruder as quickly and quietly as possible and then get Sora to identify them in the morning when he woke up… and if the soon-to-be-prisoner happened to wake up a few hours before that, alone, in the dark, and chained up in a prison cell, then it would just be their punishment for not only breaking into her home, but also ruining one of the windows…she was a hald-demon after all and glass wasn't exalt easy to get, even for her!

Actually, Kairi doubted that "Glass" was actually used by anyone except wizards with proficiency with fire magic who just wanted to show off what they could accomplish with a bit of sand…

She left the room and Sora behind with all the stealth and finesse that she had used to enter it, utterly confident that it would only take a few seconds to bushwhack the intruder and imprison them before they even knew what hit them!

In fact, Kairi didn't even bother to conceal her demonic features, her horns and wings, as she silently flew up towards the ceiling and moved towards where the magic that filled her home was claiming that her uninvited "guest" was lurking.

As she closed in on the intruder, a small light seemed to be coming from where the magic was leading her…as she stealthily flew closer; it quickly became apparent what its source was.

Kairi froze in midair and let out a silent gasp when she saw the appearance of the person that she had been so confident about bushwhacking.

It was a boy who looked slightly older than Sora. He had silver hair that barely stayed above his shoulders…it would have been slightly effeminate in Kairi's opinion if not for the rest of him. The boy's eyes were an emerald green that was currently warped in silent and barely controlled anger; a scowl was set on his features as he gripped his torch, the source of light. He was clad in armor nearly identical to Sora's except for a slightly more worn look…it was obvious that this intruder wouldn't be anything like Sora was.

He was clearly here with an iron determination, and his "aura" alone suggested that he wouldn't even blink at the prospect of cutting her down to rescue his friend…

For a brief moment, Kairi actually contemplated running back to get Sora to explain what had really happened, the silver-haired boy would be nearly impossible to simply knock out as long as he had that torch to illuminate the area around him, and he seemed on high-alert, obviously fore-warned about the potential dangers of trespassing in her castle, unlike Sora had been…

But no…something in her wouldn't allow her to simply back down and rely on Sora to save her.

There was some part of Kairi that felt a wave of repugnance at the idea of relying on Sora to bail her out. It wasn't just her tomboyish streak, no…her sense of pride as a demon, well, half-demon, wouldn't allow it! She was hardly arrogant…it was just…she was the half-demon, not him! If she couldn't look out for herself, if she needed to go running back for help every time a real problem reared its head, then what did that say about her?!

The auburn haired girl's eyes narrowed as she slightly adjusted her position in the air.

No…Kairi was adamant on this one…she would stand, fight, and win…she didn't need to rely on anyone else to save her! She took one, last deep breath before she swopped downwards towards the silver-haired intruder.

Just as she thought, the intruder froze in surprise as his senses detected a sudden rush of movement into the air as she flew toward him, fists outstretched towards his head in an attempt to knock him out in a single, but powerful, strike.

To her surprise, he was able to partially avoid the attack; it hit his shoulder instead of his head.

The boy grunted in both surprise and pain, but he spun along with Kairi's momentum as she flew by.

His hand gripped her ankle before she could soar out of range.

Kairi's eyes widened for an instant, but the boy gave her no time to react as he violently slammed her onto the floor.

To say it stung would truly have been nothing short of an insult to her tight now.

The silver-haired assailant proved to be even stronger than he looked (and he looked pretty strong to start with!) as he slammed her onto the ground with one arm. She landed on her stomach and chest, both parts of her body ached enough to elicit a low moan of pain from her mouth.

Kairi was unused to being hurt like this, not that she couldn't take it…it was just…surprising!

The sound of metal being unsheathed was more than enough to get her attention past her pain. The boy still held her by her ankle to immobilize her and he had probably just placed the torch on the ground, away from the carpet, so that he could draw his blade to finish her.

Thinking quickly, Kairi jerked up and spun around in mid-air, desperately flapping her wings to keep herself airborne as the twisting motion essentially freed her foot from the iron grip of her silver-haired foe.

She would have smirked in satisfaction at the look of surprise on the boy's face if the circumstances were different, but his shock would only last for a few, precious seconds and his sword was already raised, just waiting to be swung down upon her currently vulnerable form.

Naturally, Kairi didn't give him that chance.

The silver-haired boy yelped loudly in both surprise and pain as a medium-sized fireball erupted from Kairi's fingers, singing his armor and sending him flying backwards.

NOW she could smirk in satisfaction!

The overall damage of the attack seemed minimal, much to Kairi's chagrin. The boy simply stood up, though with a grunt of exertion, seemingly unheard except for a large scorch mark on his armor…

Blast! Whoever made Sora and this intruder's armor really knew what they were doing!

"Is that the best you can do?" he growled at her as he gripped his sword in both hands defiantly.

Ah, so he wouldn't just back down after all!

Of course, that didn't matter…actually, it was going to be kind of fun shattering the silver-haired boy's ego! If he and Sora were indeed comrades, then showing him off to the brunette in the morning was going to be even sweeter a victory than she had dared to hope!

Despite herself, Kairi giggled just a bit, getting a raised eyebrow from her enemy, though he didn't lower his guard or react in any other way.

"It's nothing…ready for a beating, Mr…?"

"Riku?!"

Both the silver-haired boy and Kairi froze as a familiar voice rang out.

Sora, still dressed in the pajamas that Kairi had loaned him, came running from the direction of his room, sword at the ready. Apparently, he wasn't quite as heavy a sleeper as she gave him credit for…

"What are you doing here?"

Mentally, the auburn-haired girls slapped her forehead and prayed to whatever she could legally call a God that Sora was just a little slow from just waking up…there was no way anyone could be THAT thick! She turned her attention to her former opponent, apparently named Riku, with a look of curiosity. He actually seemed more surprised and even a little appalled at Sora's cluelessness.

"I came here to rescue you!" He nearly yelled in reply, clearly flabbergasted. "The villagers said that you had just disappeared and that a demon had killed you!"

Instantly Sora froze, Kairi could see his eyes widen.

"You…mean…this isn't a…dream?"

Kairi merely blinked as she heard Sora's words. It actually made sense, now that she thought about it…he had just woken up and the situation was rather…bizarre. Still, it did sound rather ridiculous!

Riku seemed about to explode with either indignation or surprise, Kairi couldn't tell which…still, it was rather funny to watch him tighten and untighten his muscles in a desperate attempt to stop himself from strangling Sora.

"No…it's not a dream…Sora…what happened?" The strained tone in Riku's voice merely confirmed Kairi's suspicions of how hard it was for him to stop himself from reacting in a more…extreme manner. She couldn't help but relax, if only a little as Riku turned his attention away from her and directed it at his brunette friend. Of course, she still kept her guard up…but it was nice to see things were slowing down again…

"Er…well…um…it's a long story…" Sora smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in a manner that magnified his embarrassment.

Kairi silently giggled to herself as a vein began to throb on Riku's forehead. Sora's expression and demeanor was more than enough to amuse her, but the two knights', or whatever the two boys were ranked in their little club, exchanges were simply hysterical! The urge to burst into outright laughter was almost overwhelming, but she managed to keep it down to a small giggle, somehow.

Now just wasn't a good time to draw attention to herself or risk provoking Riku…beating him up in front of Sora probably wouldn't do much for their tentative friendship!

"Sora, we don't have long. I convinced the villagers to storm this place once I entered, they'll be here soon!"

Instantly, time seemed to freeze, at least, it seemed to for Kairi, as the full impact of Riku's words set in.

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Kairi grabbed Riku by his collar and throat and violently slammed him against the stone wall with all the strength of an enraged half-demon. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" her normally tranquil blue eye seemed to glow with a dark power as her face contorted into one of pure rage.

Did Riku have any idea of what he had done?! Did he know what was going to happen when the villagers stormed the castle?! Obviously there was no way that they would be able to harm her, but it would mean the end of her current way of life. Regardless of what the world might have thought of her and her kind, Kairi didn't want to become a murderer simply to save her own skin…but now Riku was more or less forcing that terrible possibility upon her!

And if that wasn't enough to enrage her, then the fact that she would be forced to move out of the castle that she had been born and raised in was!

Riku was visibly surprised and even afraid for a fraction of a second before he managed to get his "poker face" back on, but the damage was already done. Kairi knew his true feeling son his current position, he was understandably afraid, who wouldn't be? She prided herself on not being a murderer, all she had ever done to those who entered her home, mistaking it for a common castle to be looted, was scare them halfway to death or even knock them around in some of the more stubborn cases, but that was it.

She kept her principles intact and if her "victims" happened to spread a few rumors that would scare most passersby's away but not attract any undue attention from any local militia or glory-seeking knights, then all the better!

Of course, now all those years of work were ruined…and it was all Riku's fault!

A low but ferocious growl escaped her lips as she returned Riku's glare…now all she had to decide what to do with him since her life was going to be ruined one way or another…should he be burned or strangled to death?

And then a hand came down on her bare shoulder.

"Kairi…"

She blinked and slowly turned her head, though she still kept Riku under a tight grip and an equally tight surveillance. Sora was standing next to her, looking straight into her eyes with his own, aqua-colored orbs.

For once, it was her turn to have her breath stolen from her in surprise. Both his tone and his eyes held a note of sheer determination that surpassed even the near-murderous intent that had adorned Riku's features less than a moment ago. It was a side of Sora that she had never seen before, not even when he first came into her home. In fact, she really hadn't believed him to have any of the qualities that a soldier was supposed to have, apart from a sense of duty and courage.

It was just surprising to see and hear someone who seemed so innocent and naïve to speak with such drive and command…perhaps there was more to him than Kairi had suspected…

Sora slowly moved his hand towards her and removed it from Riku, quickly doing the same to the other.

She could most certainly have chosen to resist him, but she didn't out of both surprise and a desire to see just what he intended to do to solve her current dilemma…assuming this wasn't just another one of his "spur of the moment" things.

While she had only known him for a few days, Kairi didn't have to be a psychic to pick up on the fact that Sora wasn't a very good planner.

Riku warily stepped to her side in a brisk manner, glaring at her suspiciously even as Sora held her complete attention, not that she could blame him.

After the scare Kairi had given him, Riku would have had to be a complete and utter fool to let his guard down around her again!

"Sora, what-?" The auburn-haired girl, for once, was at a loss as to just what to say to Sora. This time, she had no witty or suggestive comment on the tip of her tongue, waiting to be unleashed upon the easily-embarrassed brunette. It was a complete departure from what she was used to, Sora was the one who had put her at a loss for words with his demeanor and words alone.

"Riku, can't we just take her to Roxas?"

Kairi was visibly taken aback at Sora's suggestion, and from slight "bump" that resounded throughout the air indicated that Riku was just as surprised as she was.

Naturally, she recognized the name of the son of one of the most powerful and influential people in the entire kingdom, just because Kairi lived in a castle didn't mean that she was ignorant of the outside world! Her surprise stemmed mainly from the fact Sora seemed to actually know the boy on a personal level…well, he seemed to have enough trust in him to suggest taking a half-demon who had knocked him out and more or less kept him prisoner for three days!

At the same time, she could also understand where the brunette was coming from…there were certain rumors circulating about that Roxas had befriended a traveling witch with a less-than-noble bloodline and reputation…among other, more scandalous, rumors regarding their relationship, the two were supposed to be very close...

If Sora and Riku truly did know Roxas, and if he could indeed accept a witch of all people as a close friend (or possibly something more…intimate), then it was quite likely that he would be willing to help shelter her, if only until the villagers were done looting her castle...

"No, there's no way that's going to work!"

Again, Kairi was taken aback by Riku's rather emotional outburst, though nor for the more obvious reasons. He was clearly upset over the very idea of going off to meet Roxas…the idea obviously angered him, thought she couldn't understand why. Granted, Sora's idea was rather…chancy, but it seemed to be the only one that didn't involve mass-murder on her part…and the worst that could happen was her having to knock Roxas out if he refused to help her and called the local authorities…even if she could look like a normal human at will.

"But Riku-!"

Sora didn't even get a chance to fully protest as a loud banging sound echoed throughout the entire castle…it was the sound of the wooden doors being slammed open. Angry shouts and footsteps quickly 

followed, the villagers were making good on their pledge to Riku, and at what seemed to be the worst time possible.

Panic welled up inside of Kairi as what sounded like a small army approached her, Sora, and Riku. What was she supposed to do now?! The villagers weren't going to simply run away because of a few magic tricks on her part, not this time. That left her but one option, apart from simply submitting to either death or capture, neither of which were appealing prospects. She would have to fight, to kill…to murder the villagers that she had stolen from in order to survive for so long.

This was one day that Kairi had been dreading…even as a half-demon, she knew that she couldn't bring herself to just kill so many people, even if they were invading her home like this! She had, after all, done much to cause their wrath…

There she stood, ready to accept what seemed to be her inexorable fate with her head lowered, as if in shame, when an arm wrapped around her waist.

Kairi's head instantly jerked up, it wasn't one of the villagers, they had yet to come around the corner, and the hold wasn't hostile, it was as gentle and as caring as it could be in such a dangerous situation.

The half-demon gasped in shock as she realized that it was Sora gripping her as he literally jumped through one of the nearby windows in the corridor, shattering the glass and sending them both into free-fall.

The wind flew through her Kairi's hair and clothing as both she and Sora fell. It would have been a pleasant feeling if not for the fact that the two weren't going to make a very soft landing.

"Kairi, your wings!"

Of course, how could she have been so stupid?! The half-demon quickly extended her wings, though she was uncertain about how much they would help…they would have to be supporting both her and Sora's weight, not to mention the fact that she had never actually flown on the outside of her castle…

It was only halfway successful.

Both she and Sroa nearly landed on top of each other in a heap, Kairi had been forced to "retract" her demonic features in order to avoid breaking them, something that would be both crippling and agonizing.

With a low groan, Kairi sat up and looked around to survey the damage. Sora was close to her, though not uncomfortably, and her dress was dirtied and had several tears in it, though it was still serviceable. Overall, it could have been much worse, but the situation still looked incredibly grim…

"Kairi, are you alright?" Sora walked up to her, concern clearly in his voice, as he offered her his hand to help her to her feet.

"Yes…thank you, Sora," the auburn-haired girl replied with a slight smile. As terrible as her current situation was, Sora truly did seem to possess a nearly unnatural ability to cheer her up. "Where's Riku?"

"Right here…" Kairi stiffened as she stood up, a faint movement in the darkness indicated where Riku was, followed quickly by his abrupt appearance, characterized by a scowl. Closer inspection revealed that his armor was slightly smudged in dirt and even a few leaves in his slightly disorganized silver hair. "Sora…you owe me for this one…we'll find somewhere to camp and then we'll head towards Roxas…"

Inwardly, Kairi sighed in relief, she had seriously thought that Riku was going to resist Sora's idea at every point, or even try to drag her back to the villagers to face their judgment…that was one problem solved, now all she had to do was break down his pride and attitude before he caused any more problems for her…

There was only room for one person with a near-aristocratic level of pride in the group, even if it would only be for a few days at most, and it was going to be her!

…Besides, the bastard had just forced her out of her own home; he owed her a debt larger than he could possibly comprehend!

"I know of a cave nearby that can shelter us for the night," Kairi said, instantly gaining both Sora and Riku's absolute attention. "I found it one day when I was taking a stroll…it's difficult to find unless you know where to look, so we should be safe there, at least for tonight."

Mentally, Kairi was wincing even as Sora and Riku's features told her that they would follow her to the cave. It was a half truth, saying that she had found it on a stroll…deceiving Riku was something she was comfortable with, he deserved it in her eyes, but Sora…Sora was a different matter altogether.

He was innocent…so innocent…his eyes were full of life and enthusiasm, just looking at him as he eagerly exchanged words quickly with Riku in so low and quick a tone that she was barely able to make them out. It was so hard to hurt him, even though her face remained impassive, devoid of all physical signs of her regret. Everyone she had harmed in one way or another had done something to deserve it, even if she hadn't quite fully investigated their lives…

But Sora…everything about him was utterly contrary to that idea.

He was selfless and kind…he may have been overly optimistic and idealistic, but those were such petty flaws when compared to his goo traits that no doubt were overlooked by the more cynical and skeptical people of the world (like Riku) as they rolled their collective eyes at his near-blind enthusiasm.

"…So, you've decided?" Kairi asked in an amused tone as the two knights-in-training broke up their semi-huddle and turned to face her. Naturally, she already knew what their answers would be…reading human expressions and "auras" was the first thing her father had taught her…

"Yup, we're going to the cave!" Sora replied enthusiastically., causing Kairi's lips to twitch a bit as she fought of the urge to grin.

Riku merely grunted gruffly in reply and crossed his arms, no doubt in an attempt to save face…he was probably still upset over being dragged into this mess and then having to rely on her…not that he had much of a choice!

As negative as Kairi's view of him was, the half-demon had to admit that his loyalty to Sora did seem utterly unshakeable…of course, "positive" trait was probably just going to be an annoyance whenever she tried to spend some time alone with Sora or even tried to coax another one of his blushes…they were just so…pleasurable to see!

She smirked and then turned around.

"In that case, please follow me…and try not to get lost…or run face-first into a tree if you become enraptured in my beauty!" The gasp and growl from Sora and Riku respectively immediately cause dKairi to burst into a round of silent laughter before outright giggling.

She could already picture the blush on Sora's face…it was worth acting a little haughty and full of herself just to imagine!

* * *

Taaaa daaa! You just got to see thing from Kairi's perspective…I hope you guys didn't riot over her…ahem "dark side"…she IS a half-demon in this fic, and I needed to do something to reflect that since she's against murder and all…

Anyway, you'll finally get to see Rox and Nam in the next chapter…so please review if you want me to get it up quickly! (I do need the motivation, you know!)


	4. Chapter 4: A Touch of Darkness

Notes: Aaaaand, I'm back! Surprised that I was able to get this chapter out so quickly? Okay, probably not, but still!

Anyway, for those of you who are fans of Rox and Nam (or just wanted something bad to actually happen to the heroes!) then this is the chapter that I actually get around to making up for the lack of true excitement!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, only my own characters and ideas...supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! (Sorry, had to do something random to shake off the sheer dullness of that!)

* * *

Sora could feel something, or someone, lightly prodding his stomach even as he groaned and turned away, intent on getting his sleep.

"Sora, wake up…" Riku's voice commanded in a suitably gruff tone. Dimly, Sora could remember Riku going off into the night before he fell asleep in the cave Kairi led them to in the night before for some reason or another that he had failed to pick up on…the hike to the cave had utterly exhausted what little strength Sora had left, especially since the entire incident had woke him up at midnight, further depriving him of his sleep! Sora DESERVED his sleep…Riku owed it to him for waking him up and leading the villagers into Kairi's castle like that!

Instead of getting up as Riku wanted, Sora merely groaned and flipped on his side, away from the now undoubtedly frustrated boy. A sly smirk grew on the brunette's face as he pictured what Riku must have been doing to vent his frustration. As ruthless as the silver-haired knight in training could be, Sora knew that not even he would resort to literally kicking him out of the sleeping back that he had cocooned himself in, and pouring water on him wouldn't work either…all they had was what their canteens held, and wasting that precious amount on something so petty just wasn't Riku's style.

Call it immature, this was just Sora's way of getting back at his best friend for ruining a night of what could have been peaceful sleep!

To his surprise, Riku actually seemed to resign himself to waiting for his best friend and comrade to awaken…something that seemed extraordinarily uncharacteristic.

Sora had learned the hard way that Riku was never content to simply let someone, or something, beat him. He always had to win, to be the best…if he was defeated; he just brushed himself off and came back later, more determined than ever. In fact, during their training, the two had an intense rivalry going on in every single subject that could be considered "competitive". Who happened to be the best in the class always seemed to switch every few days…it was an almost never ending cycle, really.

A part of Sora was actually quite glad that that part of his life was over…Riku's nearly-taunting smirks were always enough to get his blood to boil and make him strive to surpass his previous limitations…while it was certainly good for his growth, that much work and responsibility took a serious toll on him…especially because he was a "lazy bum". It was just so…surprising to see (or I this case, hear) Riku give up…

Suddenly, Sora felt a slight pressure on his upper arm as another presence drew near…there was something about it that set Sora on edge.

"Good morning, Sora…" The voice belonged to Kairi…and he could feel something, or rather, someone pressing against him even as she whispered into his ear.

Instantly, he froze as a wave of panic broke out over him. To make things worse, one of her arms snaked its way across the sleeping bag and wrapped itself around his stomach, pulling him closer to what felt like Kairi's body.

"GYYYYAAAAH!" Sora screamed as he literally jumped out his cocoon, away from Kairi. He literally seemed spin around in mid-air, instinctively turning around behind him. As expected, Kairi was laying near his sleeping bag…with what seemed to be another, rolled-up, sleeping bag between her and it.

"Huh?" he asked aloud as the realization of what really happened sank in. Kairi burst out laughing, releasing the sleeping bag that she had put in between her and Sora in her own scheme to get him out of bed.

Now he knew for sure that he had been duped…even Riku was beginning to crap up at his facial expression, which was a mix of both shock and revelation. Apparently, Kairi had convinced Riku to allow her to wake him up in her own way, which involved tricking him into thinking that she was laying next to him by heating up Riku's sleeping bag (he was never one to trust anyone else with his supplies…Sora never could understand why he insisted on hiding his own supplies in nearby, yet hidden, locations) until it felt warm enough to be Kairi's dress-clad body and then forcing against him while doing a superb job of acting like it was really her.

…In other words, Sora now had a new appreciation for just how competent a schemer the auburn-haired half-demon was.

"Y-y-you…S-s-should…have seen y-y-you're face!" Kairi said in-between gasps as she desperately tried to regain the air she lost laughing at Sora's realization.

He had to admit, it was nice to see her laughing…and it was difficult for him not to join in the laughter as well.

"Alright, that's enough, you two," Riku said in a surprisingly light-hearted manner as he walked towards the edge of the cave towards what looked like a small pile of various odds and ends…including Sora's clothes and armor. "It won't take long for the villagers to find this cave, and we've got a full day's travel ahead of us…so get dressed."

Sora exchanged a look with Kairi and she merely shrugged in reply. It could have been worse…at least she and Riku weren't literally at each other's throats again!

"Well, see you later," Kairi called back over her shoulder as she and Riku left the cave to give Sora some privacy while he exchanged the pajamas Kairi had loaned him the night before for more suitable traveling clothes.

If there was one thing Sora hated about being a knight, even an inexperienced one, it was the sheer amount of traveling that he had to do. As much as he enjoyed sightseeing and the feel of adventure, hours upon hours of uneventful walking and riding had pretty much killed off any excitement that he got from traveling…

And this time, he wouldn't even have a horse to ride one.

* * *

"Hey…Hey you, wake up!" someone was calling him…but who? The voice belonged to a girl, but he simply didn't recognize it.

The boy suddenly felt an elbow violently jam itself into his side.

He jerked up, or at least tried to. "Huh, wha-?!" the boy's gravity defying, dirty-blond hair, shook as bit as the boy pulled against the ropes that were binding his hands behind him to what felt like a pole of some sort.

"OW! Would you stop that?!" the voice he had hear earlier demanded. The boy leaned sideways and turned his head to get a look at his cell-mate as she seemed to do the same, judging from the change of pressure coming from the pole, she was no longer putting her weight against it.

His blue eyes instantly identified her physical features. The girl had short blue hair and equally blue eyes. Her clothing was well-made, if a touch plain, though it was unusual for a woman. She was wearing a white shirt that had leather guards on its shoulder, and a pair of brown pants as well. The blue-haired girl was too finely dressed to be a peasant of some kind…but she also didn't seem to be a noblewoman either…she wore pants for one thing, something a traditional lady wouldn't be caught dead in, not to mention her less-than-charming manners.

…Perhaps the blue-haired girl was a shield-maiden or some other kind of servant? It wasn't unheard of for that to happen…most nobles were willing to turn a blind eye to the gender of those in their service if they were good enough at their jobs.

"…What?" the girl asked with a curious expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she glared at him until he finally sighed and turned back around. Yep…she must have been a shield maiden of some sort…no other servant could possibly have such an attitude and actually remain in their master's service.

"So…do you know where we are?" she asked after several seconds of awkward silence. The room was dark and there was nothing else for the two to do but sit there and await whatever fate their captors had in mind for them, so it was only natural that the girl at least try to make an effort to do something other than wait.

"No, I'm afraid not." It was a less than detailed reply on the blond boy's part, but it was all that he could think of under his present circumstances…his head was still pounding…

"…Well do you at least remember how you got here in the first place?" her tone held a hint of frustration in it…it probably wouldn't hurt to give her a more detailed answer this time, especially if they were going to be stuck together like this…the last thing the spiky-haired blond needed was another elbow in his side.

"…Yeah, I remember…we were going outside the city gates to get my medicine from Nami-," he froze as his blue eyes widened in silent horror. "…no…"

"Hm? What's wrong?"

He didn't even answer the blue-haired girl as he struggled against his bindings with all of his strength, desperately trying to break free. "NAMINE, AXEL!" he called out as the memories of what had happened shortly before his capture resurfaced. How could he have been so stupid as to forget, even for a few moments?!

He had left the city along with Axel, his best friend and personal body-guard, when they were assailed by creatures that seemed to be made of darkness itself as soon as they reached the blond witch's hut. They had the advantage of surprise and there didn't seem to be an end to them…he had lost consciousness when one of them somehow appeared behind him out of literally nowhere. Axel and Namine weren't fairing much better by the time he had blacked out…were they…were they even alive?

Eventually, he stopped his struggling and fell back against the pole, utterly exhausted. The ropes were just too tight…

"Hey…um…what's your name?" it was that girl's voice again…she actually sounded…cautious…careful…she must have realized that she had unintentionally hit a nerve with her question and was trying to avoid getting him worked up a second time. It was a pointless effort though…his two best friends…they could have been dead for all he knew!

But…it's the thought that counts…right? Besides, what good would it do to make another enemy?

"…Roxas…what about you?"

"Aqua…my name's Aqua," her tone was less strained…she was relaxing, if only a bit.

And Roxas was as well…even if it was only a simple exchange of names, it was nice to break the ice a bit…especially after their less-than polite introductions.

Of course, as nice as it was to meet Aqua, the primary question on the blond's mind was how they were going to escape. He knew he had nothing on him, just a suit of chainmail armor with a lather vest over it, and his pants…not that it would matter if he had anything that could be used to free him and Aqua from the ropes. It was difficult to so much as flex his hands, much less use them to take anything out of his currently-empty pockets…if escape from this dark prison cell was indeed possible, then it wouldn't be done by through anything he could come up with.

"I don't suppose you have a way out of here, do you?" Roxas's tone was a resigned one…he already knew the answer he was going to get, but there was some part of him that was silently hoping, praying that something miraculous would happen…

He…he couldn't just sit here knowing that axel and Namine could be either dead or in danger!

"…I might, but…" Even though they were back-to-back, the blond could tell that aqua was biting her lip in hesitation, though the reason behind it escaped him. Did she have a way to get them free or not? If they could just get free of the ropes and pole, it would be something to start with, regardless of whether or not it would be possible to pick the lock to the cell's door.

"But what?!" Roxas's tone was impatient and even a little angry, normally he always kept a cool head, but right now he needed a straight answer…could he save Namine and Axel or not?

There was a pause before Aqua finally took a breath and answered.

"…I'm just not sure whether or not it'll work…I don't know if he's even coming…"

"Hm?" Roxas looked over his shoulder, a curious expression developing on his face. "Who's 'he'?"

The blond could see Aqua opening her mouth to reply when a metallic sound rang echoed throughout the whole room…and it was coming from the door's lock.

…Someone was trying to gain entry…and Roxas didn't even want to try and guess the odds of it being his and Aqua's captors…

The noise continued to echo for several seconds and then…nothing.

His muscles untensed for a few seconds even as he held his breath…had it been a mistake? Was it a cruel trick to try and intimidate them before an interrogation began? The suspense was just as bad as any one of the suspicions and ideas of what demented tortures may happen!

A loud "crack" was heard, it sounded like something had been broken somehow, and then the door opened…

Of all the people who could have come through the door, the person who walked into the cell was unquestionably one that Roxas, in all of his suspenseful imaginings, hadn't even come close to picturing.

He was a boy around his age with short, ash-black hair that seemed to have an "organized chaos" messiness to it. He wore a black robe with a hood, though it was currently down, allowing his features to be seen. Also, the boy held a steel knife in his left hand that seemed to be of impressive quality. What most drew Roxas's attention, however, was what looked like a cast of some sort on his right arm, though it seemed like it was meant to hide and conceal its appearance rather than force any broken bones back into place…the raven-haired boy was moving it around without any visible discomfort, and it was clearly made to COMPLETELY cover his arm…not even his fingers were coming through.

Perhaps he had leprosy or some other disfiguring skin disease on his arm?

Regardless, judging from the way his brown eyes rapidly scanned the room and lit up in relief when he saw him and Aqua tied to the pole immediately removed any fears of him being a torturer of some sort from Roxas's mind.

"Ven, I found her and someone else!" he whispered, just loud enough for Roxas to hear as he walked towards the rope that bound him and Aqua, apparently to cut them with the knife he had used to break the lock on the door.

Another boy about his age walked into the room, causing Roxas to audibly gasp.

The boy looked almost EXACTLY like him, the only difference was their clothing ad hair styles…whereas he wore a suit of chainmail and had spiky, nigh gravity defying hair, the boy wore a simple tunic and pair of pants, and his dirt blond hair was in a more traditional, albeit messy, style. It was similar to the raven-haired boy who was cutting the ropes, but it was noticeably messier, as if someone had been pulling upwards on it for a minute straight before releasing it…

"Nihlus, what kept you?!" Aqua hissed as the ropes fell to the ground.

Ah, so that was the name of their savior.

Roxas stepped away from the post and turned around in time to see Nihlus roll his eyes and mutter something that had the word "ingratitude" in it before her turned away from the Aqua.

"Ven, you check the other cells for anymore prisoners, I'll keep a look out…that should give Aqua enough time to stretch…" It was easy for Roxas to pick up on the more than slight hint of irritation in Nihlus's voice as Ven nodded and gave a rather cocky salute before running off.

"So…who are they?" he asked as soon as both of the other boys had left him and Aqua alone in the room for a few more moments, not that he could blame either of them for not bothering to make introductions, given the current situation.

Aqua sighed in reply and massaged her forehead with two fingers, obviously just thinking of her two…whatever they were to her, was enough to give her a headache. "Well, Nihlus is the son of the lord I serve…I'm supposed to be his bodyguard to make sure that he doesn't go and get himself killed, and Ven's another servant like me…"

Roxas raised an eyebrow in mild surprise at Aqua's reply and overall demeanor. "You certainly seem to act casually around him, if you really are technically supposed to be subservient to him." It truly was unheard of for a servant, even a bodyguard, to treat their employers the way the blue-haired girl had treated Nihlus…how could he not be curious?

Aqua spun around to face him, a fiery expression in her eyes as she raised a fist to his face. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Instantly, he regretted being so blunt…not only was getting Aqua mad at him bad in itself, but he very much doubted that she wouldn't go through with her threat to punch him in the face…she really didn't seem the type to not back up her threats…

"Nothing, I just…"

The blue-haired girl sighed and turned away before he could even finish apologizing.

"I'm…sorry…you just look so much like Ven, and I'm used to knocking him around whenever he acts up…"

…That was a rather…awkward way of phrasing things…still, Roxas wasn't about to look a gift-horse in the mouth!

"It's fine," Roxas replied simply as he heard footsteps echo down the hall, it must have been Ven…or maybe…no…that was too much to hope for…

"The name's Axel…got it memorized?"

Roxas's heart nearly stopped…could it? No…it must have been wishful thinking, surely!

"Heh, got it…say, what's wrong with you? You seem…well…depressed for someone who just got rescued!"

"Oh…sorry…I just…Roxas…"

Now the blond's heart really did stop. With all the haste of a man near madness, Roxas sprinted out of the cell and turned towards the voices. Standing behind Ven were two people, a man and a girl roughly his age.

The man was relatively young, probably in his early twenties, and had fire-red hair that was both long and wild, and his eyes were an emerald green. His overall build was rather on the thin side, but it was obvious that there was quite a bit of hidden strength within the man…and a bit of maniac as well, not to mention a cocky streak from the smirk that was decorating his features. The red-head was dressed in an identical manner to Roxas, the only difference between their armor was the size...obviously, a full-grown man needed a bigger suit than someone Roxas's age.

It was the girl, however, that dominated the blond's attention.

She had a petite, almost fragile-looking figure, though there was something about her…a powerful and even unbreakable will that hovered behind her sea-blue eyes. Her hair was a golden blond that reached down to her shoulder blades, and her skin had the slightest hint of paleness to it, not enough to mar her appearance, but just enough to add an almost holy look to her already pure appearance. The blind girl was clad in a simple brown, hooded cloak and an equally simple white dress that only reach down to her knees, the rest looking as though it had been torn off over the passage of time. Apart from that, the slight dress was in extraordinarily good condition, it was obvious how much she cared for it…while her clothed were simple, they only added to her beauty…

And beautiful she was, jaw-dropingly so, in Roxas's opinion, however inappropriate it may have been for someone of his position.

If his heart hadn't stopped earlier out of sheer shock, it certainly did so now…though it was more out of joy than surprise.

"N-Namine?!"

The girl's head, which had been facing the ground in what seemed to be depression and worry earlier, instantly jerked up, her blue eyes filled with both surprise and relief.

"Roxas!"

To his surprise, she ran up to him, practically, shoving both Axel and Ven aside, and nearly jumped on top of him, wrapping her bare arms around his neck and burying her head in his chest in a close hug.

A startled gasp escaped his lips as he struggled to stop himself from falling from the added weight and the force of Namine's impact; it was nothing short of totally unexpected!

"Wha-?! N-Namine?!" Roxas stuttered as she continued the clutch at him tightly, his face was beginning to turn a light pink. To make things worse, both Axel and Ven were starting to smirk and elbow each other in a joking manner…apparently, Axel had finally found someone who's sense of humor was identical to his own.

"Roxas…I thought…" Namine slowly stepped back just a little, barely enough to allow him to see her face…her eyes were on the verge of letting a torrent of tears flow forth. "…I thought you were dead or…or going to die…"

He was at a loss for words…he did know that he and Axel were the only friends she had, everyone else shunned her since she was a "witch", so it only made sense that she would break down at the mere thought of losing either one of them…and he was closer to her than Axel was…

…Nevertheless, it was embarrassing to have her this close to him! There were already enough rumors about the two of them circulating about without these kinds of scenes…but…he couldn't just pull away…one look at her blue orbs instantly rid his mind of such a callous idea…and the hug wasn't an entirely unpleasant experience either…

Roxas gently patted the back of her head and slowly stepped away.

"We don't have time to sit here and chat, we have to move, now!" Nihlus's voice hissed through the hallway, followed by the sound of his footsteps.

The blond mentally grimaced and, after giving Namine a comforting look, turned to face Nihlus. As bad as his timing was, he was right, they couldn't afford to tarry much longer…there was no telling when whoever or whatever guarded this prison would discover their escape…

"Ugh…Nihlus…you…" Aqua stomped out past Roxas with a sour look on her face as she advanced toward her charge. Nihlus's face was one of both confusion and fear as his bodyguard began to practically drag him by his good arm down the hall and towards what Roxas believed to be the exit.

Despite his irritation with the raven-haired boy, he couldn't help but feel a degree of sympathy for him…he had come perilously close to finding out just how terrible Aqua's wrath could be, and it looked like the poor boy was about to suffer for his mistake…

Still, a part of Roxas couldn't help but smirk at Nihlus's apparent misfortune…he DID deserve some kind of punishment for breaking up his moment with Namine…it was…nice…perhaps too nice to be allowed by the rather restrictive rules of politics and society that bound him…

"So, are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to get a move on?" Ven asked as he walked past both Roxas and Namine, Axel close behind him. To the blonde's amusement, the red-haired man lightly hit Ven in the back of the head and muttered something that Roxas wasn't quite able to hear. "Oh…um…sorry for forgetting to mention that Rox was in another cell, Namine…"

"Oh…it's fine!" the "witch" replied in an almost cheerful tone.

Cheerful? A moment ago she was nearly in tears….but then, Namine had always managed to cheer him up when something in his life seemed to go horribly wrong…perhaps she was just doing the same for herself?

Ven muttering something to Axel about "ruining his chances" was enough to instantly sap him back to reality…in fact, Roxas nearly fired off a retort of some kid when Namine planted two fingers over his lips. It was amazing how girls seemed to possess an almost unnatural ability to silence their male counterparts with such a simple gesture.

"Roxas, it's fine…" she giggled, clearly amused by his reaction. "I don't mind…the real question is, do you?"

"Huh?!" he nearly gasped in surprise as Namine merely smiled in a mischievous manner in reply. It was probably just a joke on her part, she was rather fond of them, but it affected him nonetheless.

"Well I-,"

"Hey, come on, that Nihlus kid was right, we really do have to get out of here!" Axel's voice was low, but it held a hint of steel in it for once, he wasn't joking around and he certainly didn't feel like playing the daredevil role that he usually did, something that spoke volumes in itself.

Namine shot him one last look, one that Roxas wasn't quite able to read, before she turned and ran to join the rest of the group.

Roxas ran to catch up, but quickly stopped and looked over his shoulder. He…he couldn't shake the feeling that they were all being watched, but there was nothing there, not even a slight flicker of a shadow, to indicate that…

Reluctantly, he turned back around and ran to make up for lost time, it was probably nothing…and he always did tend to trust his head more than he trusted his gut feelings…

* * *

A black, armored figure stood on a nearby rooftop as the band of escapees slowly made their way through what they were most likely beginning to realize was the city known as "Hollow Bastion", the capital of "Lord" Ansem's little scrap of land.

Everything had gone perfectly from when he left Maleficent to begin machinating the events leading up to this, including the witch's attack on the city itself. Roughly half of it had already been overcome by the heartless, and his experiment was going along even better than he had hoped!

The being of darkness would have smiled if he was the smiling kind of entity.

The escapees were probably going to be suspicious of how easily their escape from the prison the heartless had taken over and locked them in under his orders went, but that wouldn't matter…there was absolutely nothing they would be able to do to avoid their inevitable fates. They would be trapped in the heartless half of the city and forced to watch as everything they knew and cherished was slowly picked away…something that would inevitably cause the dark emotions in their hearts to surface…

Roxas , Namine, and Axel would unquestionably be torn by the utter destruction and conversion of the city and its inhabitants…a public display of Ansem having his heart torn out would bring the young noble to his knees, and the witch's feelings towards him would cause her to begin to submit to the darkness within her once he became lost, and the warrior named "Axel" wouldn't last long without his friends to support him…humans were such wonderfully fragile creatures!

And then there was the trio…Nihlus, Ven, and Aqua…they were quite literally dragged from their home, far from Hollow Bastion, but he had already engineered their fall as well…

Watching the inhabitants of Hollow Bastion be converted wouldn't be enough, nor would watching it burn, but that was why he had forced Nihlus's arm to become infected with darkness…by now it must have been completely consumed, judging from the cast.

The bond between him and his friends had proven too strong to be severed by his partial transformation into a creature of darkness, but how would the others react to it, especially when their home was being torn apart by the heartless?

The darkness fed on the so-called "Dark" emotions, and Nihlus was perfect a candidate to show that…there was so much of them, so much potential for darkness to grow and flourish in the boy!

He would eventually be consumed by it…or perhaps he would willingly submit to it? Now THAT would be interesting!

Of course, his friends would soon follow…ah, what was this?

The armored figure's yellow orbs narrowed as it looked down at the raven-haired boy as he seemed to clutch at his arm in pain, getting a concerned Aqua's attempts to ease it in reply…she had managed to see and hear him scream in agony when the darkness first began to eat away at his arm of flesh and blood when he was first "infected" by it before she had been dragged away by the heartless…

Hm…yes…perhaps she would be the next to fall?

The possibilities were endless…especially considering that humans who gave in to the darkness within them always turned into creatures far more powerful than anything the heartless could create by stealing hearts.

The group of escapees soon vanished from his view, no doubt trying to find a safe place to hide out in, unaware that the heartless were under orders not to directly assail them…

Humans were truly fascinating creatures…they struggled and struggled against the darkness, but when it finally caught up with them, they turned on those they fought so hard to hard to protect with such a terrible vengeance that it sent shiver of horror up even the heartlesses' spines!

It was going to be interesting to see what "dark" emotions took control, of each individual escapee…there were so many to pick from…rage, sorrow, desire…the possibilities were enough to send shivers of anticipation down the being of darkness's spine as he slowly backed into a dark door, vanishing into the night…

* * *

Okay, I know it was probably an underwhelming chapter, and I'm sorry…I'll try to get in some action during the next chapter…

Oh, and just so you know, Aqua, and Ven aren't really OCs…they're two of the three chasers from the Birth by Sleep trailer…I'm pretty sure you can guess at who Nihlus is, right?

Anyway, sorry if you don't like me including them in the fic…I promise their roles won't be very large, so you'll be able to focus mostly on the main cast of the already released games…please don't forget to review!


	5. Chapter 5: Hollow Bastion

Notes: Okay, first thing I'd like to apologize for taking so long to get this chapter up. School's just been a ROYAL pain in the backside lately, and I only just managed to get two projects that were due on the same week done. I'll try to get back in the swing of things, but it might be difficult…still, I'll try!

Ir's just…my sister is in the hospital right now and school's not going easy on me either…I'd like to personally apologize to Captain-mad-dog-van for taking so long to get this chapter out since I wasn't able to do so when I promised.

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, there would be Riku plushies for everyone! (Mainly so that they would be loved to death by the rabid fan-girls!)

* * *

Darkness was already seeping into the city like a deadly toxin, consuming all in its wake…it wouldn't be long before the city was completely taken by the heartless…it was only a matter of time before revenge would be at hand…Ansem's betrayal would finally be repaid in full.

The black-armored entity of darkness soundlessly walked down the corridors of Hollow Bastions citadel, despite the metallic appearance of the metallic and spiky armor that covered it from head to toe, the dark entity would have been smirking in satisfaction and anticipation if it had a mouth!

Things were going so smoothly…Maleficent was fulfilling her role well, the heartless were growing stronger with every heart they took, and it wouldn't be long before "Lord Ansem", as the pathetic populace of the city had called that straw-headed, want-to-be scholar, would be found and dragged before him.

It would truly be a night to remember…

_'Lord Umbra…'_

The heavily armored being of darkness halted in the citadel's corridors and turned around to see one of the many shadow heartless that it had summoned for Maleficent to command in her assault on Hollow Bastion standing there with a small door of darkness dissipating behind it. The rather diminutive creature had called to him through his link with the realm of darkness itself, addressing him by his name…whatever news it had must have been incredibly important…

_'There are three hearts approaching the city…one of the bears the scent of-,'_

The following word was unpronounceable by any "human" tongues, but it still caused Umbra, a lord and master of darkness itself, to step back in shock. Throughout all of his planning and machinations, THAT name was not one that had ever factored into his plans…not when he infused the witch "Maleficent" with dark power, and not when he had ordered her to take Hollow Bastion…

If…if HE was going to interfere with Umbra's affairs for whatever reason, the repercussions for the lord of darkness would be severe…

_'…Try to separate them…I will determine just what our guest of honor is up to…don't interfere under any circumstances unless I give the order…'_

The heartless didn't waste time bowing to its lord and master before it faded away into a dark door to do as it had been commanded, no doubt gathering a small army of its fellow in order to actually be able to accomplish the task in question…the heartless had learned the hard way that humans were far from defenseless when faced with only one or two lesser shadows…

Umbra stood alone in the corridor for several more seconds before he slowly turned around and resumed his walk deeper into the heart of the citadel.

"Now…where did you try to hide _it_, _Lord_ Ansem?" The being of darkness muttered mockingly to itself as it began to vanish into the blackness of the hallway…what was once a glorious and beautiful place of security was quickly being consumed and warped by darkness, growing bleaker and darker with each passing hour…

Maleficent was probably having the time of her life…she did seem to have a rather odd thing for thorns and briars, judging from the way she was warping the citadel with her powers…

* * *

A small set of yellow eyes watched the three travelers that Lord Umbra had warned about as they approached the gates of the fallen city, blissfully unaware of how quickly it had fallen to the army of darkness when it materialized behind their weak walls of wood and stone…all that stood between the three humans and the embrace of darkness was a closed gate, and that could easily be opened by any one of the heartless currently observing them…

Two were male and the third was female…the first of the males had an unusual hair color, it was a whitish-silver, and the other had hair the color of dirt, and equally messy! They were both clad in the same kind of metal skin that the soldiers inside the city wore to try to shield them from the claws of the heartless and its fellows, not that it had done them any good, so the third traveler, the female, must have been of some importance…

As they drew closer, the heartless and its hidden fellows were able to better "see" their hearts and the "scents" they gave off…

The boy with silver hair had a moderate amount of darkness in his heart…but it reeked of potential! He wasn't like most humans who simply allowed darkness in their hearts for power or because they cared nothing for their fellows…no, this human boy had true strength and power in his heart…he would make an excellent servant of the darkness when he was turned!

The second boy, the one with hair that spiked out in every direction, was far less appetizing…in fact; he was outright revolting to the heartless! There was such a miniscule amount of darkness within him…it was almost nauseating to just be even remotely near him! How could such a misshapen creature possibly posses the will to live without the rapture that came with the darkness?! Within itself, the heartless could feel the urge to leap down and expose the poor boy's heart to the darkness rise to the surface, but it and its fellows were able to contain themselves…Lord Umbra's orders came first, they would just have to wait until the travelers entered the city and then descend upon them before the human realized what had happened…they would have to be quick so they would be able to get back into position in order to separate Umbra's "old friend" from his two traveling companions before he could reach the gates…

It never occurred to the single-minded heartless that it was odd for two groups of three travelers to be reported to be arriving at the same gate…it never paused to think that, perhaps it was making a mistake in assuming that this trio was just a completely ordinary group of humans.

Finally, the heartless tore its view away from the almost sickening sight of the brunette boy and looked upon the female with mild interest…she would probably have a mediocre amount of darkness in her heart, or just be a spoiled brat like all the other women and girls who were apparently part of the "high" society of the humans.

It couldn't have been any more wrong…

The heartless would have let out a shriek if it had a mouth. The girl with auburn hair was completely different than her two companions! Her heart was…utterly devoid of darkness, it was almost painful to just look at, much less even imagine removing it! And her "scent" it was…familiar…of course! The female reeked of the heart-scent of Lord Umbra's enemy! But…how was that possible?

Was it…possible? Could the human female perhaps be Lord Umbra's foe's…what was the word…daughter?!

No…she looked far too human for that to be correct…her heart may have "smelled" like a different being altogether, but she was obviously a human female!

The heartless's eyes narrowed as it "felt" several mental calls from its nearby comrades. Yes…it was agreed by all…they would split up the entire group and try to claim their hearts…if the female was a normal human, then they would have nothing to fear, and if she was indeed what they thought she was…well, then their failure wouldn't harm Lord Umbra's plans.

The brunette was knocking on the gate now in a rather immature and pathetic attempt to open it, despite the fact that it was still rather dark outside…now was the perfect time to carry out Lord Umbra's orders.

The shadow heartless stealthily crept towards the gatehouse, completely unnoticed against the still-black sky…

* * *

"Sora, for the last time, that's not going to work, they won't open the gate for you just because you tried to annoy them to death," Sora heard Riku call out to him as he finished yet another round of knocking. He was beginning to think that his best friends was right…maybe forcing him and Kairi to trek that one more mile to finally reach the city gates was a bad idea after all…

"Aw, c'mon Riku! At least he didn't want to just sit around watching grass grow unlike certain boring people around here…" Kairi giggled as Sora ahead Riku let out one of his signature "hmphs" that he used whenever he didn't feel like arguing or debating with someone. He could hear the auburn-haired girl walking towards him even as he lowered his hand to his side and took a step away from the gate. "So…would you mind if I asked you something, Sora?"

The brunette turned to face Kairi, mentally dreading what she was going to say…almost every "conversation" she had had with him always ended wither forcing a blush upon his cheeks and then giggling in her near-heavenly manner. He may have had a reputation for being gullible, but even Sora was able to pick up on the fact that Kairi enjoyed embarrassing him!

"Um, sure…" he replied, already apprehensive of the auburn-haired girl. Women have always been mysteries to men, and Sora was even more clueless about the inner workings of their minds than the rest of his fellow males…what hope could he have of anticipating Kairi's words and then coming up with a reply witty enough to reverse their positions, to make HER the one to flush with embarrassment!

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad…" Kairi cooed after a light round of giggles as she took one more step towards Sora, causing him to back up against the gate in an almost subconscious act. "I'm just curious about this city…I've heard some very interesting things about the ruler…Lord Ansem?"

He almost sighed in relief, she seemed genuinely curious.

"Yup, that's him!" Sora cheerfully replied, confirming Kairi's guess. "I'm not sure just how many of them are true, but there have been a lot of…rumors going around about him that have made most of the other lords suspicious of him…" his tone was beginning to change after the word "rumor"…the brunette didn't want to wind up giving Kairi false information or spread any false rumors, but he knew that she would just probe him sooner or later for more answers.

Even he could tell that simply securing a safe-haven for Kairi wouldn't be enough…he and Riku would be stuck with her for a long time yet.

Still, Sora wasn't quite sure how to continue…he hadn't really thought of where he would take the conversation once he confirmed Kairi's suspicions, and judging from her curious expression, she wouldn't take "I don't know much about Ansem or the city of Hollow Bastion" as an answer…

"Really? What kinds of rumors?"

Sora desperately tried to fight off the urge to gulp. He wanted to be able to answer Kairi's question, but there were so many different rumors, and one of the first thing he'd learned as a young boy was that most of the tales weather-beaten travelers told were inaccurate at best…and the last thing he wanted to do was give Kairi a negative view of the father of the person that he and Riku thought would be able to help her!

"Er….well…um…there was…and then…" he stuttered, unsure of just what to say.

"Some people suspect him of having turned to black magic in the past," Riku stated bluntly as he approached Sora and Kairi.

Instantly, the brunette felt a wave of gratitude towards his best friend.

"Ansem denied it, of course, and no solid proof was found, but that didn't stop people from suspecting…"

"Is that so?" Kairi asked, slowly peeling her eyes away from Sora to face Riku. "So, people think that he's a criminal simply because he employed someone who isn't rich or enrolled in an academy to treat his son?" Sora could see Riku's entire body freeze up for a second as his eyes seemed to widen just a tiny bit in annoyance.

"No, that's not what I'm saying. There was just this time a few years back when there was a-," Sora felt a sudden pressure on his back, letting out a yelp of surprise that interrupted Riku's explanation. The massive wooden gate behind him was slowly opening, allowing entrance to the city.

"Heh, they opened it for us after all, Riku!" Sora looked over his shoulder at the silver-haired boy with a slight smirk on his face as he put his hands behind his head and began to walk forward into the city. It may have been a bit on the immature side, but it just felt too good to get back at Riku to not flaunt being right for once! He could hear Kairi snicker a bit behind him as Riku growled in irritation, further adding to Sora's rising sense of satisfaction.

He could hear his two companions walking up behind him as he entered the city, it was more or less just as he remembered it. There were numerous houses, shops, and other such buildings around a fortified citadel where Lord Ansem and his family stayed, unless something happened that forced the general populace to fall back into it.

"Hey, Sora…does something seem a little…off to you?" Riku seemed apprehensive as Sora turned to face him, his green eyes were scanning the surrounding buildings as though an ambush could come from them at any time.

"No, not really…why do you ask?"

"Well I…" for once, Riku seemed at a loss for words, and that alone was enough to make Sora nervous. Riku was easily the single most confidant individual he knew, the silver-haired boy almost never doubted himself or showed the slightest bit of hesitation. For him to even sound apprehensive was almost unheard of…and over a mere hunch as well. "I don't know…something just feels wrong…there aren't even any town guards around here, it's like the city's deserted!"

"Sora…he's right…something's wrong, I can feel it…" Kairi said, looking around before turning her gaze back to the brunette. He could see an emotion in her eyes he had never thought the half-demon capable of…fear.

Now he KNEW that something was wrong!

Sora and Riku both drew their weapons as they took several hesitant steps deeper into the city. Despite their gut-feelings, the fact was that they had no other choice…they couldn't just leave Kairi behind, and Roxas was the only person either could trust to help them. Judging from the way that Kairi walked behind them both, eyes scanning the alleys and buildings for any sign of trouble, she had arrived at the same conclusion.

"Hrm? What was that?" Kairi's voice echoed throughout the night, nearly causing Sora to jump in surprise. While her voice was normally beautiful to hear, the air of suspense that coiled around the trio was enough to make even it sound like a lethal threat when first heard.

"What was what?" he asked, turning to face the auburn-haired girl while looking around out of his eye's corner.

"That," Kairi pointed upwards, toward what seemed to be the roof of one of the countless buildings nearby, there truly seemed nothing extraordinary about it. "I could have sworn I saw something move…maybe I should check it out?" her voice was hesitant, unsure if her suggestion was a good one, and Sora couldn't blame her for it.

"No, we should stick together!" Sora fiercely pounded his chest with his left hand, visibly surprising Kairi with his sudden fire…and the way he carelessly raised his voice to anyone or anything that may have taken offense to their presence. "If we split up, there's no telling what may happen!" She to take his words well, even if they were rather uninspired and cliché, but a wicked grin soon materialized on her lips as she took a step towards the brunette, seemingly gliding along the ground as she did so.

"Why Sora…" she cooed so softly that the young knight wasn't sure if he was having a twisted daydream, a product of overactive hormones, or not. "I had no idea that you were so concerned for my well-being…" he gulped, but his legs refused to take a step back as Kairi all but invaded his personal space with her usual smirk. Sora could feel the heat rise to his cheeks as her warm breath caressed his face; she was so close to him right now…it was difficult to tell whether or not pulling away was the best idea about now. The urge to simply bask in the beautiful girl's presence forever was overwhelming, even dominating as he felt her take yet another step towards him, leaving barely half a foot between them.

"K-airi, w-what are you-?!" he stuttered, unable to form an intelligent sentence as Kairi merely smiled at him.

"Nothing at all, would you stop being so paranoid?" She giggled, only slightly relieving him of his nervousness. Sora was certain that he saw Riku rolling his eyes and muttering to himself…maybe he WAS a little paranoid after all. Riku wouldn't have let her actually do anything, and yet Sora had almost fainted from embarrassment! But, that was probably why Kairi continued to toy with him like this whenever she got the chance…she obviously enjoyed tormenting him!

"Don't worry, I'll be fine, you of all people should know what I can do in a fight!" The auburn-haired girl spun around with a flourish, her horns and wings growing out of her once more as she accessed her demon half.

Despite her fairly ornate clothing, Sora was barely able to see Kairi as she flew up to the roof-top, but then, she had proven to be fairly stealthy during their first…"meeting".

"Sora, keep your guard up!" The brunette nearly jumped out of his skin as Riku hissed furiously from behind him. He only nodded quickly in reply and raised his sword up once more as they both turned away in order to guard each other's backs. As blunt as he might have been, Riku never failed to keep Sora focused on the task at hand whenever he got side-tracked by something…it was one of the reasons they made such a great team, they naturally covered each other's weaknesses.

Sora wasn't sure how much time passed as he and Riku both strained all of their senses to pick up even the slightest sign of trouble, but it seemed to drag on for an eternity. It was almost unbearable…everything seemed to be perfectly safe, and yet there was just…something, a base instinct perhaps, screaming that something was wrong…horribly wrong…

The brunette could have sworn that the shadows around him and Riku were moving, but every time he focused his sight on one patch, it suddenly seemed to become perfectly still…was he overreacting? Maybe he was just seeing things?

Suddenly, a female scream shattered the silence that had enveloped him and Riku like a dark blanket. The voice was familiar, it was Kairi's!

Sora heard Riku spin around to face the direction the terrible sound came from as he did the same, instantly freezing at the sight before him. Kairi was on the roof right next to the one she had been investigating before, and so were several small creatures that seemed to be made of living shadow. They only came up to about knee-height, but their claws seemed unnaturally sharp, and their yellow eyes glowed like lanterns in the darkness. Somehow, they seemed to have managed to get the drop on Kairi, she was more or less surrounded as more and more of the strange creatures seemed to materialize out of nowhere on the neighboring rooftops, as well as the one she was on.

"Sora, Riku!" she cried out, her voice cracked with panic, as one of the creatures lunged for her with its claws flexed. Kairi raised her leg in response, aiming a kick straight at the little monster's head before it could reach her, sending the creature of shadow flying backwards off the rooftop. Several more of the creatures instantly leaped to take their fallen ally's place while even more swarmed around behind Kairi, trying to cut off her escape routes.

"Kairi!" Sora yelled back to her as the monsters began to charge her. He ran towards the house as quickly as his legs could carry him, not even thinking about what he would do once he actually reached the structure. There was no way that he'd be able to simply scale it, especially in his armor, and the chances of the shadow-monsters just leaving him alone if he did try to climb were remote to say the least.

"Wha-, what are you doing?!" the brunette abruptly spun around as he heard Riku shout, a note of panic in his voice. Even more of the small monsters had appeared out of nowhere, cornering the his friend against the side of another one of the houses as even more seemed to materialize out of the shadows in front of the gate.

They were trapped…there was no way out!

Sora stood in shock as numb fear took hold of him. This had all been his idea…it was his fault that Kairi and Riku were in danger! His grip on his sword tightened at that thought, fear, grief, and anger all flowed through him like a river. No! He wouldn't let any harm come to either of his friends! He had gotten them into this mess, and he would get them out of it!

The brunette let out a yell as he charged towards a small group of the shadow-creatures that was advancing towards him, standing between himself and Riku in the process. Sora he seen firsthand how powerful Kairi was…he didn't want to leave her on her own, but Riku needed him more at the moment. Out of the corner of his blue eyes, Sora could see Kairi keeping her attackers at bay with her fire magic and occasional physical strikes. The creatures of darkness were keeping too much pressure on her to allow her to simply fly away, but she was safe for now, unlike Riku, who was desperately lashing out at all in range just to keep some breathing room.

His defense wouldn't last much longer…

Sora plunged his sword towards the leading shadowling in a thrust. The blade entered the creature's round head with about as much resistance as a training dummy. It only seemed to blink for a moment, seemingly not realizing what had just happened, and then…exploded into what looked like a black mist of some kind.

Just what were these things?! How did they get into the city?! And where were all the people?!

Whatever the living shadows were, they didn't give Sora any time to think as they began to circle him, more and more of them emerging from seemingly nowhere. The creatures seemed bored, somehow…their movements were jerky and erratic, but they seemed to be moving with deliberate slowness, as if the impossibly spiky-haired brunette before them posed no threat despite having just slain one of their comrades!

Sora's eyes rapidly darted from creature to creatutre as he struggled to maintain his composure. He shouldn't have let his emotions get the better of him and charge in…he should have thought before he struck, and now he was surrounded because of it…still, there was nothing to be done about it now, he had to help Riku before he was overcome! It was all so overwhelming…the guilt of leading his friends into this trap, the pressure of trying to redeem his mistake, and having to devote every ounce of his attention to his surroundings to block any attacks from his foes as they circled him, probing his defenses for weaknesses to be exploited.

Sora was far from a master tactician or a veteran warrior, but even he could recognize such a basic tactic!

His fear was ever-present and foreboding as it threatened to simply explode to the surface…the shadowlings seemed to be all-too aware of the terror they inspired despite their small size as they flexed their razor sharp claws in unison, each was clearly eager to leap upon him…

"Sora, above you!" Riku's voice broke the brunette's almost zen-like state of concentration as he tried to keep up his iron-tight defense. He looked up in time to see Riku slaying one of his numerous opponents with a horizontal slash and yet another of the creatures leaping up into the air.

It was different from the others, it was more toned and muscular, and its antennae were far more prominent and wild-looking as time seemed to move in slow-motion for Sora as it fell towards him, claws ready to pierce and tear into him.

Instantly, his reflexes took over, doing what his mind couldn't. His blade rose to meet the dark being in mid-air, neatly cutting into its side and sending it flying into the mass of lesser creatures that surrounded him, creating a hole in their previously impenetrable barrier.

"Sora, run!" Riku yelled as he desperately fought back against the horde that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Wh-what?!" Sora couldn't believe what he was hearing…Riku wanted him to _run,_ to just abandon him and Kairi?!

The silver-haired warrior seemed to realize what was going through his friend's mind even as his defenses began to crack underneath the relentless pressure that the monsters assailed him with. "We'll be fine, we can take care of ourselves, just get out of here!"

"But I-!" Sora was at a loss for words, unsure of what he to do or say. He couldn't just leave them behind, but Riku was right, this was his only hope of escape, however slim it might have been…

The brunette furiously clenched his fist and nodded before spinning around and rushing through the hole in the ranks of the shadow-monsters, striking several with his blade to keep them back in the process. The way out of the city was barred to him, the gate was teeming with more of the creatures, and the hole he had created in their lines pointed away from it anyways…the only way he could go was deeper into the city.

Sora could have sworn he saw Riku shoot him a small smirk before turning his attention back to his own battle.

He could hear at least some of the shadow-monsters as they pursued him, their claws against the paved streets were a very distinctive sound, but he couldn't tell precisely how many were chasing after him, though it was obvious that the majority were focusing their attention on Kairi and Riku.

Sora ran almost blindly through the streets for what felt like an eternity as his pursuers chased him tirelessly. He could feel his own sword and armor weighing him down, stripping him of his energy when he needed it most. He had to lose them somehow…he was gaining distance on them, but not quickly enough!

Sora's eyes scanned his surroundings as best as they could in the inky blackness of the night as he sped through the street. There was an alleyway just to his left! It wasn't an ideal hiding place by any measure, but the sounds of his pursuers' were fairly distant and it was still quite dark! Sora had nothing to lose by at least trying to hide, if he continued to simply run like this, he would surely tire and falter!

He quickly dashed into the alleyway without a second thought, crouching down into the shadows as best as he could with his sword at the ready in case they discovered him. Time seemed to creep by slowly, every second felt like an hour as sweat began to trickle down Sora's forehead as he tried to stay as still as possible, looking for even the slightest sign of discovery.

Nothing happened...he could hear nothing in the dark night as he slowly stood up from his uncomfortable crouch and lowered his blade. The silence was as terrible as it was wonderful…it may have meant that his pursuers had either given up or passed by unseen in the shadows, but it also meant that one way or another Riku and Kairi's battles had ended…Kairi were both extremely skilled fighters, but…his optimistic nature was failing him for once…he had seen how they were struggling with their foes as he ran to escape his own.

He had abandoned them…when they needed him the most, he left them!

Suddenly, there was a faint flicker of movement behind him, a light sound as someone, or rather, _something_ moved behind him. Sora spun around in time to see a clawed and shadowy arm lunge for him and enter his chest. He could barely believe his eyes as it literally tore through his armor and flesh as though it were nothing and yet not one drop of blood was spilt, nor did he feel any pain from it. Instead, Sora felt his entire body freeze and stiffen to the point where he could barely move his head.

A low gasp escaped his lips as he felt his chest and insides tighten unpleasantly…whatever this thing was doing to him, t wasn't for his benefit. Slowly, Sora forced his head to look up the length of the arm, noticing that it was human-sized unlike the other creatures'. The darkness cloaked his assailant, but there was one feature he could made out…

Two horrible, glowing yellow eyes that were level with his as they seemed to stare into his very soul.

Sora open and shut his mout several times, but now words came out as his body began to go limp and his vision darkened…he was fading away…he wouldn't be able to stay conscious much longer.

Riku…Kairi…he had failed them…

* * *

Okay, I REALLY would like to apologize for taking so long to get this one out, but like I said, my life's been turned upside down recently…I know it's not much of an excuse, and part of it is/was my laziness, but could you please forgive me for making you wait so long?


End file.
